


Flu

by ImmortalBerry



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Bromance, Caring Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Gen, Magic, Or bromance - Freeform, Possible Magic Reveal, Pre-Slash, Protective Knights (Merlin), Sick Character, Sick Merlin (Merlin), Sickfic, Subliminal Messages, Worried Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), could be seen as gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-13
Updated: 2020-02-05
Packaged: 2020-03-02 18:20:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 26,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18816430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImmortalBerry/pseuds/ImmortalBerry
Summary: Merlin has the flu. Arthur notices it and sends him back to his chambers to rest, but an important event forces Merlin to heal himself to be able to attend the event by Arthur's side. The healing didn't go quite right though... Something is suddenly wrong with Merlin's magic. Read on as chaos ensues.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to this little story of mine. This is my first Merlin fanfiction. I've read a lot of them recently and always wanted to write one myself. So when my brain first came up with a decent idea, I was itching to sit down and write it.  
> Concerning the story: This is Merlin-centric and Merlin + Arthur friendship. No slash but bromance if you squint hard enough. Set after season three, somewhat in season 4 but it doesn't depend much on the events in the show. I'm basically just taking the characters and locations for a ride. Please enjoy.

“Atishoo!” The sudden sound of Merlin's violent, aggressive sneeze cut through the peaceful morning silence with merciless roughness. Arthur, who was just about to shove a fork, balancing his breakfast, into his mouth flinched so bad, the fork clattered back onto his plate.

 

“Merlin!” Arthur said, annoyed and rolling with his eyes. “This is the third time already. Did you make it your personal vendetta to ruin my morning?” Merlin huffed at that in a pouty manner while wiping his runny nose with the sleeve of his brown jacket.

 

“Oh excuse me, _Sire_. I'm inconsolable that my misery is causing you discomfort. I'll try to suffer more quietly from now on, your Highness.” Merlin went back to polish Arthur's armor, leaving Arthur to stare at him in disbelieve. Arthur set his fork aside to frown at his manservant for a drawn out second.

 

“You are bolder than usual today... And for you? That's quite an achievement.” At that, Merlin simply sighed, continuing to polish Arthur's helmet. Arthur would never admit it, but he was a little disappointed that Merlin didn't return his attempt at lighthearted banter. _Weird..._ Arthur took a moment to take in Merlin's appearance; His friend was pale, his shoulders sagged and his movements were slow and sluggish. Besides the white pallor of his skin, dark shadows beneath his eyes and a slightly red nose stood out and the usual glint in his blue eyes seemed to be missing as well. Merlin kept wrinkling his runny nose and when Arthur looked closely, he could see a tremor traveling up and down his thin body. It was quite obvious by now that Merlin was sick and a pang of guilt gnawed at Arthur's heart for being so mean to him earlier. Picking his fork back up and resuming his breakfast, Arthur tried to take on a nonchalant expression and a casual tone as he addressed Merlin.

 

“Did you let Gaius take a look at you?” Arthur asked, not looking at Merlin. Merlin paused his polishing to look at Arthur, masking his face with a mock-affectionate expression.

 

“Aw, I didn't know you cared, Arthur.” A small smile appeared on Merlin's lips as he challenged his King.

 

“I-I don't! I just don't want you to bumble about, getting all of my knights sick as well.” Arthur retorted.

 

“You are one to talk, Sir _I-don't-need-bed rest.”_ Merlin teased. Arthur moaned.

 

“Don't change the topic, Merlin. Did Gaius have a look at you?” Arthur asked, putting on a more serious expression. Merlin, not able to build up the energy to talk himself out of this one, deflated and answered his King in a small voice.

 

“No, he didn't... I couldn't sleep well last night and got up before he did.” Merlin said as he turned away from Arthur, facing the armor plates sitting in his lap again.

 

“Alright, that's it.” Arthur said as he suddenly got up from the table and went over to where Merlin was sitting on a bench. Grabbing his manservant by his thin wrist, Arthur gently tugged to make him rise to his feet. “We are going to see Gaius, right now.” Arthur said, determination etched in the lines on his face.

 

“But Arthur...” Merlin whined, hesitantly trotting along.

 

“Merlin, this was not a request.” Arthur said, his tone leaving no room for arguments.

Gaius was sitting at his table, his nose shoved into a thick book. He had a big selection of herbs and a mortar next to him. He looked up from the book to the door as Arthur entered the room with Merlin in tow.

 

“Sire, how can I help you?” He asked in surprise. His gaze snapped to Merlin and his face displayed worry for a brief moment. “Is everything alright?” Arthur pulled Merlin in front of him and placing a hand on each shoulder, spun him so he was facing the physician. Merlin stumbled slightly during the spinning motion but Arthur's grip held him upright.

 

“Gaius, Merlin seems to be sick. I'd like for you to have a proper look at him.” Gaius' eyes snapped back and forth between the king and his ward before he moved up to Merlin and put a cool hand underneath Merlin's black bangs to feel his temperature. Gaius sucked in a sharp breath with a disbelieving look on his face.

 

“Merlin!” The physician was shaking his head. “You have a high fever.”

 

“I'm fine.” Merlin tried to convince them but he might as well try talking to a wall.

 

“You idiot.” Arthur mumbled and let a breath slowly out of his nose. “You stay here and get better first before you try to come back to me.” Arthur said while carefully shoving Merlin towards Gaius who immediately took over in steadying his ward.

 

“Don't worry, Sire.” Gaius said while looking at the King with honesty glinting in his eyes. He turned to look sharply at Merlin. “I'll make sure he'll follow your orders.” Without missing another heartbeat, Gaius guided Merlin towards his room. Merlin tried to turn to Arthur and talk him out of it.

 

“Arthur! There are important festivities with parties from other kingdoms attending tomorrow evening. You need me now more than ever!” Merlin tried to argue but Arthur was having none of it.

 

“Don't be ridiculous, Merlin. I'll simply employ George as my manservant until you are feeling well enough again.” Arthur said, while sporting a teasing smile. “He does a way better job than you anyway.” Without waiting for Merlin's reaction, Arthur turned and was out of Gaius chambers the next second.

 

“Gaius, I can't take on a sick leave!” Merlin whined as soon as Arthur was out of the room. “What if someone attending the fest tries to make an attempt on Arthur's life? There are still many enemies which he can't face alone. I need to be by his side during the event tomorrow.”

 

“Well apparently, your body didn't get that message. You won't be of help to him in your current state.” Gaius put a reassuring hand onto his shoulder. “Recover first before you end up dead.” Gaius ushered Merlin into his room and tugged him into his bed as soon as Merlin took of his boots. “'ll make you a herbal tea and a poultice. Sleep a bit, Merlin. I'll wake you if anything of importance occurs.” Gaius left Merlin's room. Alone, lying in his bed, Merlin's head was spinning. He felt the heat radiating off of his own skin, yet his body was wrecked with chills. Merlin knew from experience that Gaius managed to cure someone with the same symptoms he was currently experiencing within two weeks. Which meant it would take at least a week for Merlin to be fit enough to take on his tasks as manservant again. _That is too long._ Normally, he'd embrace the idea of some free time but not now. Everyone in Camelot has been preparing for the fest tomorrow evening. They where eagerly awaiting all the guests who were send by their respected kingdoms on a mission to keep the peace intact. There were going to be negotiations, ideas for new treaties, announcement of new regulations and hopefully, no problems. Here is the thing: Arthur wasn't exactly the ' _no problem'_ kind of person, much to Merlin's annoyance. Arthur just couldn't seem to stay out of trouble.

 

That's why Merlin needed to be by his side during the feast. He cursed his sick body under his breath and closed his eyes as he felt a headache pulsating in the back of his head. His aching body forced him to relax and not being able to resist the sweet temptation of sleep any longer, Merlin drifted to a restless sleep.

 

…

 

“Merlin.”

 

Merlin felt the heavy weight of more than his usual blanket on top of him. There was also something cool pressing down on his forehead. The coldness made him shiver and he frowned in annoyance.

 

“Merlin, can you hear me?” That was Gaius. The coldness left his forehead and he realized it had been Gaius' hand resting there.

 

“Go away...” Merlin slurred with still closed eyes.

 

“Merlin, you need to eat something. I made some porridge for you earlier but you were fast asleep. I reheated it for you.”

 

Merlin's ears perked up at that. “Earlier? How long was I asleep for?” He asked tentatively.

 

“About six hours. I also got you the herbal tea and I applied the poultice while you were asleep. You were shivering pretty bad, so I got you my blanket. How do you feel?” The old physician asked, concern overshadowing his features.

 

“I'm alright. The sleep worked wonders. Do you think I'm fit to take on my duty as mans-” He was interrupted by a coughing fit. Gaius helped him sit up and stroked his back gently. As soon as Merlin's lungs had calmed down, Gaius held out a cup of hot, steaming tea to Merlin's lips. The ward gratefully took hold of the cup with slightly shaking hands and sipped slowly, letting the liquid warm him from the inside.

 

“Does that answer you question?” Gaius asked, raising one eyebrow at the warlock.

 

“Not really...?” He tried, but seeing Gaius simply shaking his head and turning to leave the room, Merlin knew that Gaius was not letting him go that easily. He put the cup aside and eyed the bowl of porridge warily, not feeling like eating at the moment. Nevertheless, he took the bowl and a spoon and forced a few spoonfuls down. He should not get on Gaius' bad side if he wanted to leave this room anytime near in the future. With waking up from the sleep, Merlin took a moment to assess his condition. The headache was gone now but his eyes and throat were burning slightly. Instead of running, his nose seemed to like the idea of being stuffy better, forcing him to breathe through his mouth. His muscles were aching pretty bad; It felt like he'd been running after Arthur through the forest for at least a week. Without thinking about it, he reached out for his magic to light a candle next to his bed. His eyes grew wide. His magic was still there, he could feel it clearly, but something seemed to be different. The process of accessing his magic seemed to stutter, the action wasn't as smooth as it should be. As if someone or something had placed an obstacle on the path from his outstretched hand to the inner core of his magic. He tried to put more focus into it and finally, with a spark of gold overshadowing the blue of his eyes, the candle came to life as a flame started flickering, making the shadows on the wall dance across the room. Merlin stared at the candle, a frown on his face while deep in thought when Gaius entered his room again, probably to check if Merlin had eaten the porridge. Gaius froze mid-motion of advancing through the room when he saw the look on Merlin's face.

 

“Are you alright?” Gaius asked hesitantly. Merlin snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Gaius questioningly.

 

“Gaius, does an illness -like this flu- affect magic users in a different way? With possible other symptoms?” Merlin wasn't able to suppress the worry lacing over his words. Gaius was alarmed right now.

 

“Why? Are you experiencing unusual symptoms?” He pushed Merlin's blankets away to take a look at his legs. “Did you grow extra limbs or anything?” Gaius actually asked that in a serious manner, but it didn't surprise Merlin in the least. It wouldn't be the first time for them to encounter something they would've never believed in their wildest dreams before.

 

“No, it's not like that... It just feels like something is wrong- no, not quite wrong... Something is affecting my magic. It feels like I have to fight through several layers of cotton to be able to reach for my magic. I was always able to do it effortlessly, but I had to focus really hard just now to be able to light this candle.” Merlin finished, underlining his words with a flick of his wrist in the candle's direction. Gaius nodded slowly as he sat next to Merlin on a chair.

 

“Well, it might be possible. Concerning magic, you are always an exception, a special case. Instead of having learned magic like I did, magic was always a part of you. You are magic, Merlin. Magic was never a choice for you like it is for all the sorcerers out there. So, if you are sick, then maybe your magic -which is part of your being- falls ill as well.” Gaius puts a reassuring hand on Merlin's arm, looking deep into his eyes. “Don't worry Merlin. Your magic will always be there. It might be subdued at the moment due to your flu, but it is there.” Merlin visibly relaxed after considering his mentor's words. Gaius, satisfied with Merlin's attempt at eating the porridge, took the empty mug and the still half-full bowl and stood up to leave the room. Before he left, he turned to Merlin again.

 

“Merlin, I strongly advise you to reduce your use of magic until you have fully recovered.” Merlin opened his mouth to protest, but Gaius raised his hand to stop him. “If your magic is sick as well, it will need as much rest as you do to recover from the flu. Give it the time it needs to recover.” Merlin snapped his still opened mouth shut. He couldn't quite argue with that. Also, he didn't say it out loud, but the initial feeling of his magic being subdued, had scared him slightly. _Maybe Gaius is right... I should take it easy._

 

Well that was the idea at first.

 

…

 

The next morning came. Merlin woke up with a hurting throat and a deep, wet cough. His nose was now simultaneously stuffy _and running_ and moving slightly revealed a muscle ache Merlin hadn't felt in a long, long time. Merlin didn't even know some of these muscles existed in the first place. With his condition like this, there was no way for Gaius to let him attend the fest today. And Arthur would probably send him back to his chambers as soon as he'd lay eyes upon his shaking frame and snow white pallor. Merlin let out a sigh.

 

Even though his mind screamed at him to be by Arthur's side on an important day like this, he couldn't help the tiny voice in the back of his mind that was enjoying a peaceful quiet morning. No breakfast to fetch, no laundry to gather -and especially- no things being thrown at his face. As soon as this peaceful thought crossed his mind, Merlin felt guilty. _It is my destiny to protect him, not lazing around._ The silence was also an indication, that Gaius was currently out, making his rounds, leaving Merlin alone. An idea slowly started blooming in the back of his head. A tiny flower growing bigger and bigger. Merlin's eyes snapped to the place on the floor, where underneath loose wooden planks, his most valuable treasure was hidden. Looking at the wooden door to his room and listening for a few breaths, Merlin swung his legs over the edge of his bed and set them down onto the floor gingerly. With slow, careful movements, he bend down and lifted the loose planks. The task, even as minor as it was, was exhausting and left Merlin breathing heavily when he finally was able to sit back down on his bed, the old book in hands. He took a few lungfuls of breath and waited for a coughing fit to subside until he was able to open the mighty collection of spells. With professional routine, Merlin skipped through the pages until he had found what he was looking for: Healing spells. There were multiple spells, most of them only for high level sorcerers.

_Healing flesh wounds of others, healing your own flesh wounds, enchanting a healing potion to intensify its effect..._ Merlin skipped a page. _Healing illness of others, healing your own illness aha!_ The spell was quite complex and would need all of his concentration, especially considering his magic was a bit weakened as well. But if everything went right, Merlin would be able to attend the festivities this evening and -most importantly- he'd be able to save Arthur's arse from any potential threat. Merlin made his choice; He straightened his back and took a moment to brace himself for the impact on his magic the spell was probably going to have. _Breathe in, breathe out. In, out..._ He studied the words written in the language of the old religion before him until he knew every word by heart. Then he started speaking with his voice. Not the usual one everyone was able to hear, no. This was his true voice: dripping with power, inflicting wonder and astonishment and in some cases, fear.

 

“ _Allinan Orpha Pufonimst adl fram mich Ik pekprohale ac pinu lixar mich.”_ As soon as the spell had spilled over Merlin's lips, he felt his magic pooling from his inner core into the tip of his finger. The surge of energy was crawling under his skin and just when the spell was about to be cast, the surge of energy retreated back to its core again, only leaving a tingle behind. Nothing had happened.

 

Merlin tried again. Nothing again. He was moaning in frustration.

 

“Come on! I really need to be at the fest today! Have mercy on me...” He closed his eyes for a second and calmed his beating heart down a bit before he opened them again and let the words from the spell bubble up from his insides one last time:

 

“Allinan Orpha Pufonimst adl fram mich Ik pekprohale ac pinu lixar mich.” The energy, the magic was back again, but this time with more force and focus and then, Merlin felt the familiar warmth of successful performed magic. He felt better immediately. The cough was gone, the ache had died down and his nose wasn't that stuffy anymore. To Merlin's surprise though, his flu wasn't completely healed as it should've been. _Weird._ This spell was designed to cure every illness completely... Maybe it's because of his subdued and ill magic that the spell only managed to cure him halfway.

 

Well, he still felt a little drained and his throat was scratchy but at least he was healthy enough to go back to work. Now all he had to do was deal with Gaius' lecture and convince Arthur to let him work again. Child's play.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the comments and kudos which the first chapter already received. I'm glad thatMany people liked the start of this story.  
> I hope you like this chapter as well.

“You did what?” Gaius was fuming. “Merlin, I told you that it could be dangerous to use your magic in your current condition. There are so many things which we still have to learn about your true nature… And that your magic was influenced by your illness is certainly something we shouldn’t ignore. Illness always requires time for recovery and a proper rest and by using your magic you denied it its time to recover! Who knows what might happen!” Gaius was shouting by now, having worked himself up during his tirade. Merlin had guiltily shrunken away from him. After he had used the healing spell, he had clothed himself and was about to bounce down the stairs leading from his room into Gaius quarters when he had almost run the physician over. Gaius was about to protest and send him back to bed when it took him another glance to realize that Merlin was not in the same condition he had left him in earlier. Gaius was quick to imagine what had happened.

 

 Merlin waited for Gaius to stop to take a few breaths until he dared to defend himself.

 

“I know, I know. I-” He said in a small voice.

 

“Apparently, you don’t!” Gaius interrupted him and looked sharply at Merlin. Merlin flinched slightly, putting on an innocent look. Gaius deflated as he saw the look on his ward’s face.

 

“Listen Merlin… It’s not just that you used your magic when I advised you not to do it. I have to admit that I almost expected you to do it. I mean, you are you.” Merlin allowed himself an impish smile to spread over his face. “How are you going to explain your miraculous recovery? Arthur saw how sick you were and he surely has informed at least a few men of your absence by now. You can’t suddenly recover out of the blue from a sickness that usually takes around two weeks!” Gaius was looking at Merlin accusingly. Merlin was about to respond when a sneeze cut him off. He wrinkled his nose and a slight shiver run down his back. That had silenced Gaius, who was staring at Merlin in surprise.

 

“You don’t need to worry about that. Arthur is not a physician. He’ll believe your word when you tell him that you treated me good enough for me to be able to return to work. I’m still sick… I didn’t heal myself completely. He won’t suspect a thing.”

 

“Merlin… How did you manage that? As far as I can remember, there is no spell to cure someone only partially.” Gaius asked, suspicion plastered on his face.

 

Merlin turned away from Gaius, pretending to look for something to eat, to prevent Gaius from noticing the tiny spark of worry that rushed over his features for a second. “I just did. I’m the most powerful sorcerer who has ever walked this earth, remember?” Merlin answered, trying to distract Gaius instead. To his satisfaction, it worked. Gaius simply sighed dramatically, while shaking his head. He went over to a tiny bundle of cloth which was placed on the table and put it in a cup.

 

“Since you still are fairly sick, I will at least make you another herbal tea. You can report back to work after that.” Merlin’s face split into a warm toothy grin as he bounced over to Gaius to sit down at the table. “Your wish is my command!”

 

**…**

 

Arthur was in a bad mood. He always had to shoulder a lot of responsibilities as king of Camelot, but festivities like the ones they were awaiting this evening always managed to increase the pressure. He was responsible for the guests, for their well-being and for their pleasure; In order to keep his ties to other kingdoms intact, Arthur had to make sure that their guests got the best impression.

 

Arthur had always hated feasts like these. Since he was a young boy, his father had made him attend them, showing him off in the process. Arthur had to keep a straight face as several court ladies from different kingdoms had pinched his red cheeks and told him what a handsome young man he was going to be. _I know!_ He had thought, grinning at them awkwardly. Well, at least he knew how to act in order to keep the peace… And he doubted that a court lady would dare to come up to him and pinch his cheek considering he was king now.

 

A sigh escaped him as he watched George cleaning his room. He had arrived on schedule to wake him up, had served him the perfect breakfast, had all other tasks finished before Arthur could even ask him to do them and he was currently getting extra work done. Arthur hated it. Another sigh escaped him as he got lost in thought, thinking about a special manservant. _I should visit him today. Check on how he feels._ He stood up from the spot on the table he had been occupying and was just about to leave the room when the door was flung open and a very loud and clumsy Merlin stumbled into the room.

 

“Merlin!” Arthur greeted him, a wide smile on his face and forgetting himself for a second as he reached out and squeezed Merlin’s shoulder affectionately.

 

“Arthur!” Merlin greeted him in return, an evenly wide grin on his face, his eyes jumping to the hand still resting on his shoulder. His smile widened. Arthur, remembering that he had reputation to keep, retracted his hand promptly, leaving the ghost of a warm, tingling touch on Merlin’s shoulder behind.

 

“What are you doing here?” Arthur asked, a frown appearing on his face. “Aren’t you supposed to rest?” He looked Merlin up and down, noticing that his pallor wasn’t as deadly as it had been yesterday, his back was straightened and his eyes had the usual gleam back. “Are you feeling better already?” Arthur asked suspiciously.

 

“As you can see, yes. Gaius took good care of me and declared me fit for work today. It seems like it was just a little cold. A good night’s sleep and I feel as good as new.” Merlin beamed. Arthur was _really_ glad to hear that.

 

“Well, then you can help by mucking out the stables, can’t you?” The corners of Merlin’s mouth turned down immediately.

 

“But Arthur! I’m still a little sick and I’m not supposed to do hard work.” Merlin pleaded.

 

“Well, you should’ve stayed in bed, then.” Arthur retorted, a smug smile on his face as he turned and went back to the table, picking up a guest list. Arthur heard Merlin mutter under his breath und decided that he had enough fun.

 

“Merlin, I got something better in mind. Could you help me with arranging the seats for the guests? You always have a good intuition about whom should sit next to each other during the banquet to avoid fights between the guests.” Arthur smiled at Merlin who had turned to him again.

“But _Sire!_ The stables!” Merlin gasped dramatically, slowly taking a step towards the door. The part of Arthur, which actually believed for a second that Merlin would leave again, panicked slightly. So, Arthur hurriedly turned to George who was still in the room, watching the whole interaction disdainfully.

 

“George, could you be so kind to muck out the stables for me?” Arthur asked, his lips pressed into a tight line.

 

“Of course, Sire. As you wish.” George went to leave and intentionally bumped into Merlin on his way out.

 

“Oh, and George?” Arthur spoke up again before the servant could leave. George froze on the spot, fearing that the king had seen him bumping into his puppy.

 

“Yes, Your Highness?”

 

“Merlin is back. You are dismissed.” Arthur said nonchalantly. _I saw that, George._

 

**…**

 

Merlin and Arthur had worked on the lists and some other arrangements for a few hours. Then the king had sent him to his chambers to wash up for the banquet.

_“Do you still have the ceremonial servant robes? Haven’t seen that hat in quite some time.”_ Arthur had asked lightheartedly. Merlin had managed to bargain and was allowed to leave his hat in his quarters, shivering at the thought of that monstrosity alone. He was currently scurrying through the hallways, dodging several servants carrying serving trays, clothes, fruit baskets and baked goods. Even though it always meant hard work and a lot of stress, he was kind of anticipating the festivities. He might even be able to get his hands on some of these culinary delights.

 

He turned the corner, arriving at Gaius chambers and stretched his hand out to grab the doorknob, but the door suddenly slammed open without him even touching it in the least. Inside, Gaius dropped a glass containing some kind of greenish liquid to the floor, startled by the aggressive entering. He spun around to face the door, his expression changing from fear and worry to annoyance and irritation as soon as he saw Merlin standing there, dumbfounded, his hand still outstretched to grab the doorknob.

 

“Merlin! Is it too much to ask of you to enter my room as a normal human being?” Gaius grinded his teeth while looking at the mess on the floor.

 

He couldn’t resist. “But I’m not a normal human being.” Gaius looked at him in disbelief. Merlin merely shrugged his shoulders and entered the room completely, before closing the door behind him. He pressed his back against the wall to take a second and ponder about what just had happened. _Was that the wind? No… No drought in this part of the castle._ He scratched his head. _Did I- Did I use magic to open the door?_ It had felt like a burst of energy emitting right from the palm of his hand. That had to be magic… But Merlin was pretty sure that he had neither reached for his magic nor had used it out of reflex, as a mere reaction. He simply wanted to enter the room, nothing special about it and definitely not in need of magical assistance.

 

“A little help here, Merlin?” Gaius asked impatiently, drawing Merlin back to reality. The warlock went over to Gaius, mindful to avoid the glass shards on the floor and willed the mess to magically clean up on its own.

 

Nothing happened. It was just like when he had first tried to heal himself. _Is my magic still ill?_ Gaius was looking at him questioningly, waiting for his ward’s help. Merlin’s gaze nervously jumped between his mentor and the floor before putting all his focus into another try. _Here we go!_

 

What should’ve been the mess gathering up and returning to its original state, turned into a massive shockwave of pure magic rolling through the room, with Merlin in the center. Gaius fell to the floor, several glasses on the shelves fell down, books clattered to the ground and even the chairs moved across the wooden planks of the floor, making a high-pitched creaking sound as their legs vibrated. As soon as the burst of energy was gone, Merlin felt lightheaded. His vision blurred and his breathing increased as he tried to focus all his concentration on not passing out. A beeping in both his ears dampened all other sounds and built up pressure, which blocked his hearing and therefore him, out from the rest of the world. At some point he had sunken to his knees, desperately grabbing hold of the table, which was close by, to steady himself. Somewhere, he could make out his name being called; There were suddenly warm hands on his cold cheeks, lifting his head up. His unfocused eyes could see a familiar face of someone kneeling right in front of him. He closed his eyes and focused on breathing. In and out. In- out.

The beeping in his ears died down slowly, inviting sounds which washed over him, grounding him.

 

“-hats right, Merlin. Breathe slowly.” The hands on his face shifted slightly. “Can you hear me, Merlin?” Gaius’ words dripped with worry. Merlin opened his eyes and looked directly in Gaius’ face; He had a bleeding gash right above his eyebrow but didn’t even seem to notice it. His eyes were searching Merlin’s pale features.

 

“Merlin?”

 

“I’m fine.” Merlin said, his voice shaking. With Gaius’ help, he got up on wobbly legs and sat down on one of the chairs that he had moved across the floor. His throat was scratchy and his nose was stuffy again.

 

“Whatever was that just now?” Gaius askes, incredulously. He looked around at all the broken things.

 

“What was that?” He asked more vigorously after Merlin still didn’t answer him.

 

“Gaius?” Merlin asked in a shaky voice. The physician looked at Merlin intently, almost holding his breath. “I think the flu is back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks fro reading ^^


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merlin and Gaius try to figure out what is happening to his magic. Gwaine shows up. What could go wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please enjoy this chapter.

Gaius was pacing up and down in his chambers while Merlin was busying himself with cleaning up the mess he had just created. The silence hung heavily in the air and the tension was so thick, you would’ve been able to cut it with a knife. Merlin was slowly mopping up the spilled tinctures and salves while avoiding the shards of the broken glasses and pottery which were scattered all over the floor. An itch in his throat stopped Merlin’s movements and he coughed, trying to get rid of the unpleasant feeling. As soon as he had started to cough, he couldn’t seem to ease it down again and his simple harrumphing soon turned into a severe, barking cough which drove tears into Merlin’s eyes. At some point, Gaius had joined him and was rubbing a hand across his back again, trying to help Merlin breathe by soothing him with gentle words. Merlin managed to focus on the words and willed his burning lungs to suck in a breath. He greedily sucked in air and the relief of being able to breathe again grounded him for a few seconds. The hand on his back was gone suddenly and he soon found a glass of water held under his nose. He took it gratefully and allowed the water to ease his burning throat. Seeing that Merlin had calmed down, Gaius used the opportunity to speak up.

 

“I think we are in trouble, Merlin.” The physician looked worried, knitting his eyebrows while looking deep into Merlin’s blue eyes. “It seems like your magic is out of control.”

 

Merlin’s voice wavered slightly because of the strain on his lungs as he retorted “What makes you think that?”

 

Gaius sighed heavily. “Well, unless you just tried to blow my room up intentionally, we should assume it’s out of control.” Merlin looked away at that, trying to hide the redness that creeped up into his face. Gaius was right and Merlin knew it; He had lost control over his magic. It had just acted on its own, completely ignoring Merlin’s will. Ever since Merlin could remember, he had put up a barricade within his mind which allowed him to reach for and use his magic to his satisfaction, always being able to control it with this almost subconscious protective measure. But as his magic had broken through this barricade, it had inflicted a kind of pain Merlin had never felt before; It had sucked all the physical energy out of his body, leaving him as a quivering mess. What was bothering Merlin the most though was the fact that he had inflicted a lot of harm by being unable to control his own strength. He had harmed himself, his immediate surroundings -and most importantly- Gaius who had been present during the blast. He turned to look at Gaius who was still staring at Merlin, waiting for a reaction.

 

With a small voice, Merlin said “I’m sorry Gaius.” Merlin’s gaze jumped to the gash above Gaius’ eyebrow. “I shouldn’t have lost control. I could’ve hurt- “

“It’s alright, Merlin. I am more worried about you currently. How do you feel?”

Merlin stood up from his squat on the ground and went over to the chair he had occupied earlier and sat down.

“I think my magic took over just now.” He made a small pause to let that statement sink in before he continued. Gaius had grabbed a chair and was sitting in front of Merlin. “Whenever I reach for my magic, I also have to concentrate on using only enough for me to be able to cast the spell. The full potential of my true power could rip anything apart when released all at once -including me.” Merlin looked at Gaius, fear slightly coloring his features grey. “As long as I can remember, I’ve done that by using part of my power as a barricade, a shield to protect myself… To keep me sane as well. I am able to open that barricade up and draw enough energy and magic from the opening to be able to perform magic.” Gaius was nodding at Merlin, immersed in the warlock’s explanation.

 

Merlin sighed and frowned, as he thought of a better way to explain it to Gaius. A thought lit his face up and made his eyebrows shoot up, disappearing beneath the black bangs. “You remember when we first met and you tried to expose me by dropping that bucket of water to the floor? I reacted with magic and stopped it mid-air from clattering to the ground.”

 

Gaius nodded. “Yes, you stopped it- but then dropped it again and I had to clean up the mess nonetheless.”

“That’s besides the point.” Merlin waved his hand. “What I meant to say is, that I can’t help my magic acting out of reflex from time to time. It was worse when I was younger; The years in Camelot have helped me to get it under control. Back then, every time I used magic out of instinct, it felt similar to how it felt today. I lost control, it burst through my barricade and acted on its own. But it was never enough to- to…” Merlin held in.

 

“To hurt you?” Gaius guessed. Merlin looked at him with wide eyes in surprise. “Oh Merlin… Don’t forget that I am a physician. I saw that you were in shock after that blast.” Merlin lowered his eyes while he wiped his now runny nose on the sleeve of his leather jacket.

 

“But why is your flu back? The spell you used wasn’t a temporary one, was it? Gaius asked. Before Merlin could answer, Gaius continued talking, answering his own question. “No, that is impossible… I think the spell did more damage than it did good because of your illness. Which means it might cause you to lose control over it at the moment.” He sucked in a breath, possible scenarios playing out in his head.

 

“Merlin, the last time I advised you to take a break on using magic, you disregarded it and used it to heal yourself. This time, Merlin please… Don’t use your magic. It needs time to recover. I can’t imagine what would happen if anybody beside me would’ve seen what has happened here today.

 

Merlin nodded eagerly. “I promise Gaius.”

 

“Good.” They both continued to clean the mess when a knock on the door drew their attention to a head that poked out from behind the door. Gwaine was looking at them with a wide grin. He was about to enter when he noticed the state of the room.

 

“Merlin, Gaius. What happened here?” He asked worriedly and entered the physician’s chambers completely. He searched the room for a potential threat, one hand resting on the hilt of his sword which was secured at his side.

 

“I had a patient who suffers from a severe seizure disorder. He was flailing around wildly during one of his seizures and managed to make a huge mess before Merlin and I could calm him down and administer the right medicine. The man is better now. You need not to worry, Sir Gwaine.” Gaius’ lie went smoothly and was reasonable and his delivery was so impressive, Merlin stared at his mentor in awe. Gwaine had a skeptical look on his face but nodded slowly and finally let go of the hilt of his sword. Then, he turned to Merlin.

 

“The Princess sends me. He wants to know what is taking you so long.” Merlin paled slightly. With a little smile, Gwaine added. “Oh, and he mentioned something about a hat…? And that he’d like to see it on your head if you don’t hurry up.” Merlin was on his feet immediately, bolting up the stairs to his room and put on the garments for the festivities in record time. He even managed to clean himself and look at least half the servant he was supposed to be as he trotted back down the stairs towards Gwaine. Gwaine was whistling in appreciation, a warm smile spreading on his face as he looked Merlin up and down.

 

“Merlin! I have to say, you look stunning!” He shoved an elbow into Merlin’s side in a playful manner. “Are you intending to court some of the ladies today?” Merlin only rolled his eyes, taking a step towards the door when Gaius called out to him, making him turn towards the physician.

 

“Remember what I asked of you, Merlin.” Gaius wore a serious expression. Gwaine looked between the servant and his mentor for an explanation but gave up soon and pulled Merlin through the door.

 

“What was that about? What did he ask of you?” Gwaine wanted to know.

 

“Oh, he just asked me to behave myself during the feast. He wants to make a good impression on the guests of the other kingdoms and as his ward, I represent Gaius as much as he represents himself. Ah… He wants to form new relationships and deepen the ties he already has with other court physicians.” Merlin said reluctantly, not liking that he had to lie to his friend. Gwaine seemed to accept that explanation without hesitation.

 

They wandered through the huge hallways, dodging servants and pages while Gwaine informed him about the guests that had already arrived.

“Gawant has send a huge party consistent of ladies and lords with personal servants and gifts in tow. Cambia and Bernicia arrived at the same time; Their convoy bears many gifts as well and both kingdoms have sent their respected healers and physicians with them to trade knowledge between the kingdoms. This is an important day for Camelot.” Gwaine paused to look at Merlin cheekily. “I’ve heard some of the maids look stunning.” He barked out a heartily laugh and clapped Merlin on the shoulder with more force than he intended to use, making Merlin trip forward. Hands outstretched, the stone ground came rushing towards Merlin, promising him a hard fall and an impressive collection of bruises. Accepting his fate, Merlin closed his eyes and readied himself for the impact, but it never came. Instead, he felt his magic bursting through the barrier again, stopping him mid-air during his fall. Then there was a strong wind around him, howling through the corridor. Merlin ripped his eyes open and quickly stretched his hands towards the ground he was still hovering above. As soon as his hands reached the stones and made contact with them, the magic left him and his whole weight crashed onto his thin arms. His arms wouldn’t support the sudden burden and gave way, making Merlin fall flat onto his face. Gathering all his strength, Merlin flopped onto his back to look at Gwaine and the other servants. Gwaine held his arms in front of his face, shielding himself from the strong wind that had just subsided. The other servants had shielded themselves similarly, some of them cowering over the trays they had been holding to protect whatever they were carrying. Now that the wind had died down, they all looked up, their gazes wandering through the hallway to find an explanation for the storm that had just attacked them. Gwaine was suddenly at Merlin’s side, looking in his face with a mixture of confusion and guilt.

 

“Merlin are you alright?” Gwaine suddenly searched through his knight’s armor forgetting that he had no pockets. Standing up and leaving Merlin on the ground, he went over to one of the servants and spoke in a lowered voice. Merlin observed as the servant handed something to Gwaine while bowing his head in respect.

 

_Did he see me hovering above the ground?_ Merlin thought, panic rising from the pit of his stomach and cold sweat dripping from his forehead. Gwaine came back to him and kneeled in front of Merlin again, trying to press something above Merlin’s mouth, just underneath his nose. The sudden action scared Merlin and he flinched away from whatever Gwaine tried to press over his mouth.

 

“Merlin…” Gwaine said in a soft voice, trying not to show that Merlin’s flinch had hurt him a little bit. “Calm down, your nose is bleeding.” Merlin’s hand went up to his nose and he drew it back, inspecting the sticky, red blood smeared across the top of his hand. He looked at Gwaine who held a handkerchief in his hand, some of Merlin’s blood on it. Gwaine looked like he was trying to soothe a hurt, cornered animal. Merlin let out a breath and didn’t resist when Gwaine tried to press the handkerchief against his nose once again, trying to stop the bleeding. They sat like this for a few minutes until Merlin became too uncomfortable with the situation and snatched the handkerchief out of Gwaine’s hand to hold it himself. He tried to rise to his feet, but his legs were a little wobbly. Gwaine immediately rushed to his side, offering his friend support. The servants around them had gone back to their chores and duties a while ago, ignoring the strange occurrence that they just had witnessed with childlike lightheartedness. They had a fest to worry about in the end. Gwaine on the other hand couldn’t just simply ignore what just had happened.

 

“Merlin, what was that?” He asked cautiously.

“What was what?” Merlin tried at nonchalance, still pressing the cloth against his nose.

“The wind! Didn’t you notice the wind that almost forced me to the floor?” Gwaine looked at Merlin in doubt. _I guess a normal human being would’ve noticed that, huh._ Merlin scolded himself.

 

“There tends to be a drought in this hallway from time to time. I’m assuming that the maids have opened up several windows to make sure there is no musty smell.” Merlin put down the handkerchief and revealed blood smeared on his upper lip and nose, making a pretty pitiful picture in Gwaine’s eyes. Gwaine sighed and shook his head as he gently took Merlin’s arm and escorted him to the King’s chamber.

 

“Alright, if you don’t want to tell me, I respect that as a friend… For now. Don’t think I will let this go though.” Gwaine said with determination. He gently shoved Merlin towards the heavy door of Arthur’s room. “But to do so, I need you in one piece.” Gwaine nodded in the door’s direction. “You _are so late_. Oh, use those deer-like eyes to prevent him from sending you to the stocks for the rest of your days.” With that, Gwaine bounced down the hallway out of sight. Merlin turned to the door in front of him, knocked and entered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. Still a lot of explaining I had to do in this chapter, but I don't want to rush the story. I have a lot of things planned out for Merlin's magic and I'm eager to write that!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lot goes wrong...Or right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter :) Please enjoy.

Merlin shoved the heavy wooden door open and entered Arthur’s chambers. The room was in chaos; Discarded clothes were scattered everywhere, a little puddle of water was forming underneath the washstand, a tipped over washstand pitcher above it. As soon as Merlin had entered the room, Arthur was calling out from behind his changing screen.

 

“Merlin! What took you so long?” He poked his head out from behind the screen and looked at Merlin judgingly. As soon as his blue eyes met Merlin’s face, the accusing look softened and he stepped out from behind the screen to step closer to his servant. Merlin averted his eyes, a slight blush appearing on his face as soon as his gaze landed on his King’s bare chest. Arthur came to a halt in front of him.

“What happened to your nose?” He put his finger up and wiggled it in front of Merlin’s face to indicate the area in question. Merlin’s hand flew up to touch the dried blood on his upper lip.

“Nothing. I tripped on my way here…” Arthur rolled his eyes, letting a breath slowly out of his nose and went over to the washstand to grab a wet handkerchief. He handed it to Merlin.

“Here.” He handed it to Merlin, who took it hesitantly, and without another word, Arthur turned and went back behind the changing screen while talking to Merlin.

“Don’t you dare hurt yourself in front of my guests tonight. I don’t want them to think one of my men is cursed with bad luck. It might affect their opinion on the treaties.” Merlin could here the faintest smile through Arthur’s voice as he wiped the blood off his face with the provided piece of cloth.

“Yes _, Sire_. I’ll try not to break my neck.” Merlin said sarcastically and gathered up Arthur’s garments for the festivities and hung them over the screen. Then, he continued to rush through the room like a busy bee, trying to get the mess under control again, while Arthur changed into the provided clothes.

 

“I heard guests from Gawant, Bernicia and Cambia have already arrived. I sent the knights to greet them properly and as many servants as I could offer to see to them.” Arthur said while rustling with his clothes. Merlin made an affirmative grunt as he folded and stacked the discarded clothes onto a neat pile.

“Merlin, I don’t need to remind you of how important today’s event is going to be. Everyone needs to present themselves from their best side.” Arthur continued, his voice growing more serious. Merlin turned to the washstand to clean up the puddle of water while he listened to Arthur’s words, when suddenly, his magic burst through the barricade, filling his limbs with the warm and tingling sensation of pure energy. The magic exited his body forcefully and washed over the room like a wave. With wide, glowing eyes, Merlin stared in horror at the pitcher, that started to rise and then flew up into the air. The water on the floor started gathering itself up and then one tiny droplet after the other flew up until it formed a little stream of water that went directly back into the still flying pitcher. Merlin made a step towards it when a rustle behind him made him turn and revealed bed sheets and pillows adjusting themselves on their own. A crash to his left offered a sight of lunch plates and cutlery stacking themselves on top of the table. The room was cleaning itself up! Merlin had done it before, in his own room, in Gaius chambers and even sometimes in Arthur’s room when the King had been out and about and it was safe for Merlin to do so. Now, Merlin’s heart was racing as he realized what was happening only a few paces away from the King of Camelot. He rushed towards the pitcher and snatched it out of the air. It struggled lightly within his grip.

 

“I know you are still not well, so I arranged for enough servants to attend our guests.” Arthur talked on, oblivious to the miracles and drama happening right under his nose.

Merlin ran over to the table, put the pitcher down and caught the cutlery that danced across the polished, wooden surface. He put it on the already stacked plates. They clattered on for a while but after realizing that their task of stacking themselves was done, they stilled and the magic left the inanimate objects.

 

“Besides, the delegates, lords, ladies and councilors from the other kingdoms all brought their own servants along… What are those sounds? Is everything alright?” Arthur asked, noticing that his servant was making way too much noise, which, considering it was Merlin, was simply impressive.

“Yes, everything is fine here, I’m just cleaning.” Merlin gave a hurriedly answer while looking for the next dancing object to get rid of. A noise made Merlin’s head snap up to discover a dusting cloth busying itself with cleaning the ceiling happily. Merlin’s breath hitched, sweat covering his forehead in beads as he grabbed a chair, stood on it and tried to reach for the cloth. His shaking legs protested.

 

“Well… What I mean to say: Today, you only need to tend to myself and Gwen. I don’t want you to topple over because of exhaustion. What do you say?” Arthur said, sounding satisfied with himself. Merlin’s hand had almost reached the wiggling cloth on the ceiling when his shivering legs buckled and made him lose his balance. The chair toppled over and Merlin hit the stony floor, hard. His breath got knocked out of his lungs and he had to stifle a moan. The ruckus lured Arthur to step out from behind the screen. His searching gaze fell on Merlin, who was rolling from his back onto his side, rubbing his stinging lower back in pain.

 

“What in the world are you doing here?” Arthur asked, his voice higher pitched than usually, taking in the fallen chair and his writhing servant. Arthur groaned as realization hit. “What did I just tell you about not getting hurt?” He asked rhetorically while waving his arms in exasperation. It took Merlin a while to get his bearings back before he was able to answer.

“You asked me not to injure myself in front of your guests.” Merlin managed to smile up at Arthur in between short gasps. “Well… I didn’t.” Arthur looked at his servant’s smile before he sighed and reached for Merlin’s arm, pulling him back to his feet.

“Well?” Arthur asked while looking at Merlin with raised eyebrows.

“Well what?”

“What happened?” Arthur asked, pointing at the chair accusingly.

“I-“ Merlin tried to think of an explanation when something fluttering above Arthur’s head caught his attention. The cloth had lowered itself and was dancing through the air like a butterfly right behind Arthur’s back. Merlin’s heart sank into the pit of his stomach.

“I…?” Arthur provided helpfully, a frown on his face.

“I saw a spider on the ceiling and wanted to get rid of it.” Merlin answered, his blood running cold as he observed the cloth winding itself, obviously looking for something else to clean. Arthur’s eyes widened a little in realization and his eyes snapped up to search the ceiling immediately. Just as he was about to look behind him, Merlin grabbed his attention again.

“I got it!” He exclaimed suddenly, startling Arthur, who faced Merlin again. “I got rid of it, no need to worry.” Merlin laughed nervously, his eyes wandering to the cloth that was currently cleaning the mirror next to the washstand.

“Good for you…” Arthur said hesitantly, slowly turning towards the cloth’s direction. Merlin was ready to hyperventilate when Arthur stopped mid-turn to face Merlin again. He put a heavy hand on Merlin’s bony shoulder and looked deep into his servant’s eyes, a little smile playing around his lips.

“It was very heroic of you to face such a dangerous beast,” Arthur said, closing his eyes while slowly nodding. “But the threat was not worth your brave sacrifice, young warrior.” Arthur chuckled softly and gave Merlin’s shoulder one last squeeze before he turned to the washstand to regard his attire in the -now very clean- mirror. Merlin let out a breath of relief when he spotted the lifeless cloth lying on the washstand. As the last spark of magic left the room, Merlin felt the same sense of exhaustion again. The magic he apparently used in his current condition -whether he wanted to or not- was feeding off Merlin’s physical strength as well. He let a shaky hand run through his sweaty hair and stood still, staring at an invisible point in front of him while being in thought. How was he supposed to let his magic recover from the flu when it simply started acting on its own all the time? How was he supposed to hide his magic if it actively acted against him? How was he supposed to survive this day? This week…? _Oh god… This month?_

 

“Merlin.” Arthur had turned to his friend once again and was now snapping his fingers in front of Merlin’s face to get his attention.

“Let’s go. I want to meet up with the knights to see if everything is going smoothly.” Arthur left his room and Merlin followed him.

“I arranged for the knights to provide entertainment for our guests. We built up seating areas close to the practice field; I heard, that eager knights from the other kingdoms have already challenged my knights to test their skills in swordplay. They held a few friendly duels so far and many lords and ladies are enjoying their skillful display.” Arthur had a proud smile on his face. “Of course, no one managed to beat Camelot so far.

 

“Where is Gwen?” Merlin asked while he tried to keep up with Arthur’s pace.

“She received most of our female guests and made it her task to show them around. I don’t know if she wanted to do it or if she simply wanted to relieve me of that burden.” Arthur mused, a fond smile on his lips.

 

They were passing through a hallway which had several remarkable pieces of pottery displayed on stone pedestals. Merlin’s breath came in short gasps and he fell slightly behind Arthur. His flu was still taking a toll on his body; His nose itched and he wrinkled it, trying to suppress the sneeze that was announcing its arrival. Not being able to hold it in, Merlin sneezed into his sleeve. The pressure that had built up behind his eyes was released and with it came a strong blast of magic, appearing out of nowhere, overwhelming Merlin’s senses and then it transformed a beautifully crafted vase, which was located on a pedestal right next to Merlin, into a magnificent bouquet. Merlin stared at the flowers sitting innocently on the pedestal in shock and with wide eyes. His gaze snapped back to the direction where Arthur had just disappeared around the corner. He had walked on without realizing that Merlin had stopped. He quickly grabbed the bouquet and turned on the spot frantically, searching for a spot to hide the flowers, when he heard Arthur calling his name. Before he could get rid of the flowers, footsteps announced Arthur’s return and Merlin was forced to hide the flowers behind his back when Arthur’s head popped up around the corner.

 

“Merlin! What is keeping you?” He walked towards the warlock, his arms crossed and a suspicious expression on his face. “You are behaving weird today. I mean you are always weird, but today…” Arthur tilted his head, catching sight of Merlin’s arms hiding something behind his back.

“What do you have there?” Arthur asked sternly. Merlin didn’t want to appear even more suspicious than he already was and revealed the beautiful bouquet of flowers he was holding. Arthur’s eyebrows climbed up his forehead in surprise.

“Oh? And for whom are those flowers?” Arthur asked, curiosity glinting in his eyes. Merlin’s mind went blank at the expectant eyes of his King and he started stammering.

“Ah, eh, those are… Well, I just got them… Well these are for you.” Merlin finished lamely while shoving the flowers into Arthur’s arms who slightly flinched back in surprise. _Great! Stupid Merlin!_ He could’ve said Gwen… Or simply for one of the female guests. Now he looked at Arthur who hesitantly took the flowers from out of Merlin’s hands.

“Okay…?” Arthur said while turning the bouquet in his hands to regard it. “Well, thank you Merlin. These are quite beautiful.” Arthur glanced awkwardly at Merlin’s face before he turned and continued to walk, the Bouquet still in one hand. Merlin felt exhausted… What more was to come? How long would he be able to hide his magic, like the bouquet, behind his back? Or behind Arthur’s back for that matter. He needed to stay in the shadows for today, needed to stay out of sight and he needed to avoid attention at all cost. Merlin gulped down the lump in his throat and tried to shake off the sense of dread, which was clawing at his heart before he scurried after his friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a lot of trouble with this one and I had to work it over a few times. I'm currently busy with a long term paper for university which basically keeps me up at night... The deadline is next week, so I might disappear for a while, but I'm keen to write the next chapter. I have so many ideas for what could happen next. Anyway, let me know what you think about this chapter :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone still waiting for this? I know, this is ridiculously late and I'm so sorry and I have no excuse. I was stuck and didn't know were to go with this, but I have figured out what I want to write for the next couple of chapters :)

Their footsteps echoed through the hallways as Arthur and Merlin were on their way outside to attend the knight’s practice and combats. They were in awkward silence, Merlin’s eyes constantly landing on the bouquet Arthur held firmly in one hand. Soon, they were out in the open, passing by busy servants and pages on their way, who stopped to bow respectfully to the king.

“I want to arrive unnoticed at the fighting ground to avoid any distraction.” Arthur suddenly said to Merlin. Merlin nodded and they took a different route towards the practice field which helped them stay in the shadows and out of sight. Merlin greeted that idea with open arms. Sounds of cheering and the clang of metal against metal filled the air and reached their ears as they rounded the corner to the practice field and stood in the shadow of one of the stands they had built up for their guests. Fortunately, their arrival was unnoticed as the center of all attention was the fight currently unfolding on the fighting ground. Merlin saw a flash of a red cape, brown locks and light glinting from a sharp blade. _Gwaine._ The corner of Merlin’s mouth turned up slightly as he witnessed one of the best fighters in Camelot execute a graceful yet striking series of attacks to put his opponent on the defensive. Said knight wore a blue cape matching the rest of his blue attire. He had silver armor plates on his shoulders and equally silver gloves. His arms were protected by heavy chainmail and after performing a spinning move to avoid a direct slice from Gwaine, Merlin was able to make out a flash of yellow on the knights chest. He fought with a sword and a shield. Gwaine was fighting a knight from Mercia; The delegates from Mercia must have arrived in Camelot while Merlin was busy making a mess out of everything he touched. The relationship with Mercia was still stained but there was willingness and effort on both sides to put the past behind them. Arthur whistled in appreciation next to Merlin.

“That knight is holding up well against Gwaine. It has been a while since I last saw a bead of sweat on Gwaine’s forehead during practice.” He looked at Merlin who was immersed in the fight as well. “Do you think I should be worried about how capable Mercia’s knights are?” Arthur asked with a soft smile on his lips. Merlin merely shrugged before concentrating on the fight again. It always struck him hard out of nowhere seeing Gwaine fighting like this; The seriousness, determination and the breathtaking display of skilled swordplay made Gwaine appear like a different person from the usual bragging, loud, boisterous and sly knight Merlin knew so well. It was always a joy to witness the other side of the coin that made Gwaine the knight he was. Merlin leaned in closer to get an even better look.

Gwaine was going in for another slash with his sword, but therefore left his left side open to his opponent, who managed to spin out of Gwaine’s reach while going in for an attack to Gwaine’s unprotected side himself. Only through cheer experience and a round of luck, Gwaine managed to avoid his opponent’s unforgiving strike. Gwaine took a few steps back and wiped the sweat off his face with part of his cape. The fight had taken on a more serious note now; Gwaine could clearly see a trace of annoyance in the knights fighting style, posture and face in front of him. Gwaine was a little annoyed as well, not because of the fight, but because of something in his mind which wouldn’t leave him alone and kept him distracted, causing him to make mistakes while fighting.

_Merlin,_ Gwaine thought while raising his sword again to fend off an attack from the knight cladded in blue. Gwaine had thought the incident with Merlin today over and over in his head but couldn’t seem to find a reasonable explanation for the sudden gust. After Merlin had entered Arthur’s chambers, the knight had gone back to the hallway were Merlin’s face had greeted the floor and took his time to check the windows in closer proximity. They were all closed except for one, but even standing in front of it, Gwaine could barely feel the wind touching his skin. There was no way a wind current like the one that had rushed through the hallway could originate from this tiny, open window. Gwaine’s brow had furrowed in worry as he thought back to how Merlin behaved towards him immediately afterwards. The only explanation left to Gwaine was that the wind had been conjured by a person present at that time, a sorcerer… The only person who had behaved strange though, was Merlin. Even the explanation Merlin had provided about the draught had seemed way to rushed to be at least convincing. If Gwaine’s train of thought was right, it meant that Merlin was a _sorcerer._ At that, Gwaine had to swallow down the lump in his throat and took some time to take in that assumption. Suddenly, Gwaine had to face a possibility he would never have thought of before. Which consequences it might have for his friend left him dizzy. Only Merlin would dare to be a sorcerer in Camelot.

Gwaine had accepted the challenge from the knight from Mercia in the hope of getting distracted from his mental dilemma, but instead ended up distracted by said dilemma during the fight. It didn’t help him that, while turning, his eyes fell on his king and the bumbling servant standing on the line next to a stand, observing the fight. His eyes lingered a moment too long on his friend’s face, looking into those clear blue eyes, because he suddenly felt a dull pain explode in his side and flew to the ground with a thud as his opponent thrust his shield into Gwaine’s unprotected side. Gwaine moaned and quickly rolled over onto his back to be able to face the knight in blue while fruitlessly searching the ground next to him for his sword that must have flung out of his hand while going down.

“Not so tough anymore _Sir Gwaine?_ ” the knight spat while hovering above Gwaine, the edge of his shield ready to be rammed in Gwaine’s abdomen. Gwaine was only able to curl a bit in on himself to protect his sensitive ranges when the shield came crashing down and seemingly met its target. Gwaine blinked in shock, wondering if the pain was so intense that he was numb to it and would feel it a few seconds later, but nothing came. The shield was brought down on him again and this time Gwaine had turned to see that the edge connected with his body, even a sound of the shield connecting filled the air, making the audience gasp in sympathy, but Gwaine didn’t feel a thing. His body kicking back into action, Gwaine struck out his legs to kick the equally stunned knight into the shin, making him stumble and fall onto his back on the dusty ground. He leapt to his feet like a cat and grabbed his sword with another fluid movement. Putting one foot onto the knights chest plates and his sword against his opponent’s throat, Gwaine went out of the match as the victor. The audience, which had not expected such a sudden turn of events in the match, was roaring in excitement. His friends, the other knights, came to him to pat him on the shoulder or to ask him if he was alright or needed assistance, but Gwaine’s focus was on someone else. As soon as he had put the sword against his opponent’s throat, Gwaine’s head had snapped into the direction Arthur and Merlin were still standing. Arthur was applauding with a look of respect and satisfaction on his face, but Merlin… Merlin had a look of sheer surprise and panic on his face. The thing that sucked the breath out of Gwaine’s lungs though, was the fact that Merlin’s eyes were _glowing._ They were glowing gold and to Gwaine, it was the purest and most beautiful thing he had ever seen. As soon as their eyes met, Merlin gasped and shielded his eyes by slightly turning his head and holding a hand up to block Gwaine’s line of sight.

In that very moment, Gwaine knew that Merlin was a sorcerer. He had all the proof he needed. Merlin had magic and for Gwaine, it was… It was fine. A lot of things suddenly made a lot more sense; Why Merlin always persisted on coming along on their missions, why he could be present in their fight without armor and not have a single scratch afterwards. Why he assisted in defending Camelot against magical threats together with Gaius and why so many convenient branches decided to fall on enemies during their fights. Gwaine suddenly saw Merlin in a different light; He saw him as the brave young man he had always been, but now with the addition of what a huge idiot Merlin was. _He performs magic openly like that? What is he thinking? He is literally standing half a meter away from the king of Camelot! It took me one day to figure out his secret… A secret that might cost him his life!_ Gwaine groaned internally, mentally looking at the huge pile of problems that he was going to face from now on.

One thing was for sure though: Gwaine would do anything in his power to protect his friend. He knew why Merlin had kept his magic a secret from him and probably from everyone else. It was obvious the second he thought about it. Just being in Camelot for all those years meant that Merlin had put his life on the line day in and day out. Gwaine could only imagine what kind of weight that must have put on Merlin’s shoulders. Nevertheless, Merlin had only used magic to protect his friends, family and Camelot, he had even saved Gwaine just now, proving that as a fact. The truth was, Merlin being a sorcerer and therefore a valuable, secret advantage to the kingdom, was probably something that only Gwaine could appreciate without hesitation. If anyone found out, there would be prejudices and resistance, no matter which direction they would turn. Therefore, Gwaine took it upon himself to keep his friend safe and help Merlin saving everyone’s butts in the process.

The knight from Mercia had stood up and dusted his armor off before he stomped away, muttering under his breath. The other knights from Camelot were congratulating him as Arthur and Merlin approached Gwaine on the practice field.

“Well done Gwaine.” Arthur boomed. “I’m proud to have such skilled knights fighting by my side. Knights who apparently can take quite a hit. Are you alright?” Arthur’s gaze wandered over the knight before it stopped on his face again.

“I’m alright, princess. I can take such a hit with no problem at all.” Gwaine said cheerfully, earning him a disapproving look from Arthur because of the nickname.

“Gwaine, we have guests.” Arthur hissed, his gaze nervously wandering over the audience. Gwaine chuckled softly at that. His attention soon landed on Merlin who was standing next to Arthur. The manservant was very pale and nervously stepping from one foot onto the other while avoiding eye contact. _Maybe he suspects that I saw him performing magic? He must be scared…_ Gwaine thought. Without hesitation, Gwaine closed the little gap between himself and his friend and slung his arm over Merlin’s shoulder in a brotherly manner. Merlin’s body tensed up immediately and he looked at Gwaine in surprise. Gwaine only looked at Merlin with a warm and soft smile on his lips serving in calming Merlin’s nerves down as the manservant returned the smile gratefully. Elyan suddenly pointed at something Arthur was holding in his left hand.

“A present for Gwen or a present for you from a secret admirer?” There was a teasing smile on the knight’s face while looking at his king. All eyes in the little group of people landed on the beautiful bouquet Arthur was still holding onto.

“Actually, it’s a present from an admirer, but not that secret.” Arthur answered them in a slightly stuck-up manner. There was a chorus of questions, asking for the identity of the admirer while a certain someone started to squirm within Gwaine’s grip. Gwaine looked at Merlin because of his sudden eagerness to get away from them and saw that Merlin’s face was slightly flushed while Arthur answered: “Why don’t you just ask Merlin about the identity?”

“Merlin…?” The knights of the round table all asked, a smile evident in all their voices.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Meh ;w;


	6. Chapter 6

Merlin observed the fight between Gwaine and the knight in blue with great attentiveness, flinching and ducking together with Gwaine whenever his friend needed to dodge or make evasive steps. To the bare eye, it seemed like a confrontation between two skillful, matching knights who wanted to earn honor for their respective kingdom, but to Merlin’s observant eye, it came across rather unbalanced. Fights with Gwaine were always unbalanced, because the skilled knight always seemed to win effortlessly, but this fight was different; Gwaine was somewhere else with his thoughts. He was distracted and irritated and made mistakes he’d usually never make. Merlin’s brow furrowed in confusion under his black bangs. This was very unlike the usual proud and carefree Gwaine. Just as Merlin tried to think about what might’ve riled the knight up to fight so carelessly, the dull sound of a shield hitting armor reached Merlin’s ears. Focusing on the fight and on Gwaine again, Merlin realized with a gasp, that his friend went down and was currently rolling over onto his back with a pain laced expression on his face. The knight from Mercia stood above Gwaine, ready to slam his shield into Gwaine’s body and – without a doubt – trying to inflict some real damage. The shield came crashing down, Merlin barely had the time to notice that Gwaine had curled in on himself to protect his abdomen as Merlin’s breath hitched in his throat and the world started spinning lightly. He’d do anything in his power to protect his friends and apparently, his magic would do anything as well. Subconsciously, it bubbled up to rush to Gwaine’s aid; Merlin’s hands tingled to the extend of a nagging, aggressive ache, making his fingers and arms twitch. Whenever Merlin used magic, he rarely had the opportunity to see his eyes glowing. He was told by Gaius that they shine gold, as if the rising sun casts its first gleaming rays of sunlight over the earth. He had seen it when another sorcerer or sorceress had performed magic; He had seen his own reflection in a silver tray while casting a spell. He could _feel_ the glow radiating from his eyes as his magic, while being performed, rushed through his whole being, filling every single pore. And he knew the glow was there when Gwaine, his friend, a knight from Camelot, stared him into the eyes. Brown met gold. Magic met Strength. And it was over in the blink of an eye.

Merlin averted his eyes as quickly as possible, desperately trying to build up the protective wall of magic again, focusing on subduing the rebellious energy. He registered the audience’s roar, the cheers from the knights and Arthur’s enthusiastic applause. _Gwaine won._ And Merlin had helped. He felt the magic reverting into his inner core behind the protective barrier, leaving him exhausted again. He was a little wobbly on his feet as Arthur went towards his knights and Merlin followed suit. _He saw me. He knows._ Merlin’s heart was racing as the realization hit him. Gwaine would never dismiss glowing eyes as a trick of light. Instead, he would put one and one together and see the bigger picture, which Merlin painted quite obvious. He could feel the color draining from his face as he neared his friend who was surrounded by the rest of the knights from the round table. How would Gwaine react to the revelation? Merlin cursed inwardly that the two of them were not alone. He would not be able to properly talk to Gwaine in front of all the others, explain himself, maybe even make sure Gwaine would give him enough time to flee from Camelot. He must’ve spaced out a little, but Arthur’s voice brought him back to reality.

“Are you alright?” Arthur asked Gwaine as he looked one of his own over. To Merlin’s surprise, Gwaine didn’t even blink while answering.

“I’m alright, princess. I can take such a hit with no problem at all.” The nickname caused a lecture from their king, but Merlin was too nervous to make anything out. The thoughts in his head drowned him with possible scenarios of his future resulting from this fateful day. He didn’t even notice Gwaine was approaching until he suddenly had an arm draped around his shoulder. Surprised he looked up into a kind face with a gentle smile and warm eyes as Gwaine’s brown locks slightly fell into his face. That was all Merlin needed to see right then and there. Gwaine would never harm him or push him away. Gwaine would always care for Merlin and be a true friend. He should’ve never doubted that. The silent conversation between them assured Merlin that Gwaine was and would always be on his side and Merlin tried to signal him that he understood. Suddenly, Elyan pointed out the flower Arthur was still holding onto. Merlin was sure that the only reason Arthur had the bouquet still in one hand was for the sole purpose of teasing Merlin about it. His guess was confirmed as soon as Arthur opened his mouth. Merlin squirmed in Gwaine’s grip, trying to get away from them. He even wished for the ground to swallow him whole.

“Why don’t you just ask Merlin about the identity?” Arthur said, with an evil grin on his face.

“Merlin…?” The knights addressed him; amusement evident in their voices.

…

It was a true hustle and bustle in the great hall where festive boards were stacked with food, creative dishes, pastries and other sweets and the most extravagant beverages were on display. Servants came in balancing drinks to refill glasses or trays to exchange them for empty trays on the board. Merlin stood close behind Arthur and Gwen, who were sitting at the head of the table, ready to come to their aid at their command. After the thing at the training field with Gwaine, the young warlock had searched for an opportunity to talk with Gwaine and said knight had wanted to exchange words as well but they couldn’t seem to get rid of the other knights. Then, Arthur had ordered him to come along as they were in a hurry to meet the ministers, lords and ladies and a few hours later, the sun was setting and all the guests had gathered in the great dining hall to overrun the well stacked dining board. The air was filled with polite conversations, munching noises and some laughter. Gwaine, Elyan, Percival and Leon sat next to the king and queen of Camelot and Gaius was sitting close by as well. Merlin could feel pairs of eyes resting on him, not only from Gwaine, who made sure to sent him reassuring looks from time to time, and Gaius, who threw worried glances at his ward, but also from a few delegates from the other kingdoms. A lord from Gawant, dressed in brown garments with embroidered elements was looking at him disdainfully, shooting daggers from his eyes. Merlin ignored the glances and rushed to Arthur’s side on wobbly legs to refill his cup. His thin arms trembled slightly under the weight of the filled carafe. Next to Gwen, a lady dressed in a yellow dress wrinkled her nose and slid a few paces away from Merlin.

“Queen Guinevere, your servant looks sick. I don’t want to catch whatever he has. He is probably spreading his illness everywhere in the room. I do not wish to be served next to him.” Her shrill voice caught the attention from a few people close by and all eyes landed on Merlin who tried to, despite the lack of energy and… well, health – appear as a capable and decent servant. The Lord from Gawant spoke up now as well.

“I noticed that a while ago. I didn’t know I came here under the risk of catching an illness.” His eyes jumped from Merlin to Arthur, who had set his cup down and was staring at his plate, his lips pressed into a thin line. A minister dressed in a bluish attire raised his voice, a little slur evident as he spoke.

“He looks like death. King Arthur, what are you doing to your poor servants?” The man, who had clearly had enough to drink roared with laughter. Merlin felt more than just uncomfortable with the sudden interest in his person from their guests. He glanced around nervously, catching the worried glances from Gaius and Gwaine. Elyan and Percival were looking at him with something akin to pity and from the other side, he was stabbed with disgusted looks from the ladies from the other kingdoms. In front of him, Gwen had turned in her chair and was looking at Merlin closely, her eyebrows raised, before she turned back to Arthur to talk to him in a hushed voice. Arthur then turned slightly towards Merlin and signaled him to come closer before he spoke to him with a low volume.

“Merlin, don’t you think you should let Gaius have another look at you? I have to agree with the guests; You don’t look good at all.”

“No Sire! I’m perfectly fine.” Merlin answered, not ready to leave Arthur’s side for the night yet. His voice had been a little bit to loud, though, because a lord from Cambia, dressed in high quality garments, chuckled loudly.

“If so, why don’t you perform something for our entertainment? I’m sure, as the king’s fool, you have some skills. Perhaps in Juggling…?” The guests cheered in agreement, wanting to see a performance. Merlin started sweating. The crowds cheers grew louder and louder. Arthur looked at Merlin with an apologetic smile as his manservant hesitantly went towards the middle. Bernicia had brought their own court jester along, who now – because of an order from a laughing lord from his court – walked up to Merlin and handed him his juggling balls. As his ward stepped into the center of all attention, Gaius was so tensed up, he almost left claw marks in the surface of the table. Merlin’s head was empty. He had no skills to show; the only thing he could offer was embarrassment for Camelot. If only he could use some magic to help him guide the balls, but he wouldn’t risk it in front of all those people to perform magic, especially with his situation. Taking two balls in one hand and one ball in the other hand, Merlin straightened his back and tried to juggle.

One ball went flying and Merlin caught it with the other hand. That was one ball successfully thrown without landing on the ground. Merlin sighed. The crowd wasn’t that impressed though. _Okay, two balls._ The soft ball flew up and Merlin threw the second one up as well, just as the first one reached the highest point. He remembered jugglers doing it like this and hoped that juggling was a skill that he simply had not discovered yet. He managed to catch both balls safely, earning him a few nods of approval from the guests. He was catching their interest now after having not embarrassed himself after the first few throws. The weight of the third ball suddenly sat heavy in his palm as his heart rate picked up. He wasn’t going to get this right, he was certain. Some of the guests moaned in impatience, forcing Merlin to go on. He threw the first ball, added the second and then his heart stopped a beat as he had to catch the first one while throwing the third one. He couldn’t concentrate on doing both and missed the ball which fell to the floor. For a short moment, it could’ve only lasted a second or so, Merlin whished with all his might to catch the ball, hand outstretched towards it. Inside of him, something moved. Slowly, barely noticeable for the warlock at first, but then it exploded, overwhelming all of Merlin’s senses. There was a shockwave of magic originating from Merlin which rolled over the room in a wave. The air sizzled with magic, things and people went crashing to the floor, screams of surprise and sheer panic arose from the guests. The knights, especially those from Camelot were on their feet, their hands on the hilt of their swords as their armor clattered because of the sudden movement. It was such a strong blast of magic, that the chandelier hanging from the ceiling swung and the curtains draped around the windows fluttered. Food trays and wine carafes littered the floor, people were on their knees, backs and behinds. Some knights stood protectively in front of their respective lord or lady. The knights of the round table had all but one rushed towards Arthur and Gwen; One knight remained in his spot, his eyes glued to a person kneeling in the center of the room, mouth agape. Gwaine was staring at Merlin whose eyes had rolled back into his head, his pale flesh covered in a sheen of sweat. Merlin’s body tilted and dropped to the floor like a sack of flour; the young manservant was unconscious. Arthur had risen from his chair and stared at Merlin in shock. His eyes scanned his surroundings immediately before they wandered back to his unconscious friend lying in a heap on the floor. Suddenly there were voices, filling the air with their screams.

“Magic!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you don't hate me haha...  
> Let me know what you think so far and maybe I can get a few guesses of what is going to happen next :)   
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks for reading.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the flood of Kudos this story received.   
> I hope you noticed the mixture of references from Merlin 5x01 and 4x01 I included in the last chapter. The Juggling scene from 5x01 is still one of my many many favorite scenes from Merlin.  
> Also, I hope you don't hate me that much for the cliffhanger in Chapter 6.   
> Accept Chapter 7 as an apology.  
> Enjoy the read :)

“Magic!” “Sorcerer!” “Help!” Panicked screams suddenly filled the air, breaking through the shocked silence caused by the blast of energy. The people in the room were helpless, not knowing what to do, where to flee to, how to protect themselves… An unconscious manservant was lying in the middle of the room, a caring knight by his side. As soon as Gwaine had managed to get his legs to work again, he had stumbled over to his fragile friend, in spite of several obstacles lying in his way, may it be trays, food or limbs from people lying on the floor. Gwaine gingerly grabbed Merlin by putting an arm around his shoulders and lifted him so he could lean halfway against Gwaine’s body. With his free hand, he stroked Merlin’s cheek, almost cringing away from the cold that met him at the tips of his fingers. Gwaine felt like he had cotton stuffed into his ears while his heart was racing and his blood was rushing through them.

“-aine! Gwaine!” A hand on his shoulder forced him to separate his eyes from the young sorcerer’s face. He met worried, steel-blue eyes. The king of Camelot had rushed over to the pair sitting on the floor, trying to do something to get this situation under control again.

“Gwaine.” Arthur said, calmer now as he realized he finally had the knight’s attention. “What happened?” Arthur’s voice was calm, but also almost seething. His stern gaze jumped from Merlin to Gwaine’s face and Gwaine could see that his king was working his jaw muscles vigorously. A lady from Bernicia, who had been lying close by, had recovered from the blast and overheard Arthur’s question.

“Why are you even asking?” she screeched, spit flying from her mouth, her crazy eyes jumping from one face to the other. “This servant of yours is a sorcerer! We all saw it happen! Do something about it king Arthur!” The few guests that had also recovered from the shock agreed with her. A few knights from the other kingdoms even approached the little group in the middle of the room, their swords drawn. Of course, the knights from Camelot drew their swords in response to that.

“Stop! Calm down!” Arthur’s voice suddenly drowned the bellowing of his guests. “Whatever this was, it happened in my kingdom, in my home and under my supervision, so it will be my responsibility to take care of. There is no need to worry, my knights are perfectly capable to deal with a sorcerer.”

“It doesn’t seem that way to me if you were not capable of realizing there was a sorcerer right under your nose!” The lord from Gawant interjected again, his finger pointing at Merlin. Gwaine had just about enough of this.

“It was not Merlin who performed magic!” The noise in the hall decreased significantly as almost all pairs of eyes landed on Gwaine, who was still holding on to Merlin for dear life.

“Gwaine… do you want to say… that it was you-“ Elyan who had come closer, asked disbelievingly.

“What? No of course not!” Gwaine quickly denied the accusation. “What I meant to say was, that I recovered quickly from the blast and I scanned our surroundings immediately. Then I saw a hooded figure at the gate who used the distraction to make his escape.” Gwaine hoped nobody would notice his nervous swallowing or how his hands started to tremble lightly while he hoped that they would buy the lie. It was not that far-fetched to think that they might buy it. In the chaos that had just taken place, nobody would notice a figure leaving the room.

“I saw the figure as well!” Another voice made all eyes snap into its direction. It was Gaius who had spoken up. He was standing there, breathing heavily and wore a serious expression on his face. Gwaine knitted his brow in comprehension. _Oh._

“Gaius. Are you sure you saw someone fleeing from the room?” Arthur asked, not quite able to hide the hopeful note from his voice.

“Yes, Sire.” Gaius nodded at Arthur before his eyes snapped to Merlin. Briefly, Gwaine’s and Gaius’ eyes met, their unspoken words making clear to each other that they both were willing to do anything it would take to help get Merlin out of this one.

“What makes you think the figure fleeing from this room was a sorcerer?” A man dressed in blue – his attire now stained – crossed his arms in front of his chest. He stepped closer to Gaius. “He could’ve just tried to get out of here alive while this boy-“ he pointed at Merlin. “-tied to kill us all!” Gaius straightened his back and appeared, despite his age and fragile bones, ten times more intimidating than the lord in blue.

“Let’s be reasonable for a moment. If Merlin, my ward, really was a sorcerer, why would he perform such a useless spell? Judging from the fact, that he is currently injured and unconscious, he clearly took the most damage from all the people present in the room. What kind of sorcerer would perform magic in front of everyone just to damage himself, faint and be caught afterwards? What would he achieve by doing that? Losing his life, for sure… Merlin has served the king of Camelot as a loyal manservant for a few years now and he knows what happens to people who use magic. He was also active in saving Camelot from magical threats. So let me ask you: What makes _you_ think that this young, loyal and kind-hearted man- “Gaius pointed at Merlin now as well. “-is a sorcerer?” The silence in the hall after Gaius’ words was deafening. The lord clothed in blue had taken a few steps back and had slightly shrunken in on himself during Gaius’ speech.

With a meek voice, the lord answered, trying to defend his honor. “The shockwave of magic originated from him-“ Gaius interrupted him.

“Oh that is interesting. I didn’t know you had such a deep understanding of magic that you are able to know it’s ways and how it works. Can you enlighten me about the spell my ward supposedly casted? And that – don’t forget about that fact – even without saying a word to actually cast it.” Without waiting for an answer, Gaius turned towards Arthur, his gaze softened.

“Sire, I’m afraid that the hooded figure that left earlier is the sorcerer responsible for this.”

Gwaine was speechless. He looked at Gaius with shook. He wasn’t sure anymore if his initial idea of Gaius knowing Merlin’s secret was true anymore. Hell, after that speech, which had seemed so reasonable, he wasn’t sure that _he_ himself knew Merlin’s secret. Come to think of it, even though Gwaine seemed to know the truth – the truth that the man leaning against his chest was a sorcerer – there were still a lot of things which didn’t make any sense at all. _Yes! Why would Merlin use magic in front of everyone and then just faint afterwards? Why would using magic make him faint in the first place? And why was Merlin able to perform such powerful magic without having to say a spell out loud?_ Gwaine had never heard of anything like this. Maybe there really was another sorcerer who had caused the blast and then had fled from the scene. _No Gwaine, you made that part up, remember?_

A lady in a brownish dress spoke up from one corner of the room. “I think I saw the hooded figure as well!” A few bystanders mumbled in agreement and all of a sudden, the vast majority of people in the room had seen the mystery figure fleeing from the scene. A few even said they saw the person outstretch a hand towards where Merlin was juggling and others said they saw the person’s eyes under the hood glow. Gwaine almost sneered at their desperate cry for attention while he saw through all their lies.

“I think you are right. As you said, Merlin was always a loyal manservant and friend to me and most people know about that. They must’ve tried to hurt him to send me a warning or message.” Arthur straightened his slightly slumped shoulders, turned towards the knights of Camelot and spoke to them in an authoritative voice.

“Men, I do not tolerate any more attacks from that sorcerer. He made an attempt on Merlin’s life… I want patrols scouting the castle and lower village for the sorcerer. Stop anyone who looks suspicious or anything that seems suspicious and report to me immediately about your findings.” He addressed his guests now. “I apologize for what happened tonight and I hope you are still able to rest. Rest assured knowing that I won’t take a rest myself until that sorcerer is caught and locked away to make sure all of you are safe in my kingdom. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask and if you need medical attention, my court physician will be at your service.” He waves a hand in Gaius direction. “I advise you to go to your rooms or assigned quarters to rest now.”

After he had dismissed his guests and they started to disperse to go to their respective chambers, Arthur kneeled down next to Gwaine and Merlin and put a hand on Merlin’s forehead. _Ice cold. “_ Gaius!” Arthur roared just as the physician kneeled down next to him as well, having already been on his way to his ward’s side. He made a show of examining Merlin despite already knowing what has happened. It had happened before in Gaius’ chambers after all.

“The spell seemed to have drained most of Merlin’s energy from his body – his life essence, if you’d like to call it that– hence the lack of warmth. He won’t wake up for a while; he needs to recover first. I can make some tea to speed up his healing and help with his recovery. Do not worry Sire, his life is not in danger.” Arthur let out a breath of relief. Gwen was hovering behind him, worry displayed on her face. She touched her husband’s shoulder to comfort him and Arthur returned the gesture with grabbing her hand and squeezing it slightly. Leon, Elyan and Percival were gathered around their unconscious friend as well.

“I need someone to help me carry him to my chambers.” Gaius said. All the knights raised their voices to offer their help, but Gaius had someone different in mind. “Gwaine, could you help me carry Merlin to my room? We should hurry, we need to get his temperature up as soon as possible.” Gaius’ gaze was fixed on Gwaine’s face and Gwaine returned the stare, not backing down.

“Of course, Gaius.” Gwaine slowly rose from the floor, taking Merlin with him and holding him close to his chest. “If you excuse us.” Gwaine said in the general direction of the other knights and his king and queen.

“Gaius!” Arthur’s voice made them stop for a second. They turned to look at Arthur again. “Take good care of him.”

“We will, Sire.” With that, Gaius and Gwaine holding Merlin rushed out of the room.

“What are we supposed to do now?” Elyan asked their king who was still looking after his manservant.

“We are going on patrol as well. We have a sorcerer to catch.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it. Hope none of you expected it to turn this way haha.   
> Badass Gaius right here.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back! First of all, I'm sorry that it took me this long to add another chapter. This extra long chapter is a piece offering. Private life and a major writer's block took a toll on this story but it turned out well in the end. I also wanted to take my time to assure you that I know where this story is going, how it will play out and how it will end. This fic will not be abandoned. even though I might take my time on some chapters.
> 
> I hope you'll like this chapter!

_Clack, clack, clack._ The sound of their fast strides reverberated from the stone walls as Gaius and Gwaine rushed towards Gaius’ chambers. Gwaine adjusted his grip on Merlin’s boney hip and shoulder, resisting the urge to cringe away from the cold that radiated from his friend. The tension between the physician and the knight prevented them from exchanging words on their way, which appeared never-ending in Gwaine’s opinion. They finally reached the wooden door to Gaius’ room and Gwaine gingerly entered, careful not to bump any part of Merlin on the doorframe. Looking around and spotting the padded stretcher, Gwaine made his way around the furniture to put Merlin down before Gaius’ voice suddenly made him stop dead in his tracks.

“No, not here.” Gwaine turned to look at the elder whose expression was very serious. “Arthur told the guests that they could come by if they need medical attention. Bring him up to his room; there we can talk in private.”

Gwaine tried not to swallow or look like a rabbit caught in a trap as he made his way up the few steps to Merlin’s room, Gaius right behind him. The questions he had to ask were burning inside him with a never ceasing flame.

Gently, Gwaine put Merlin onto his bed and arranged his slim form to be more comfortable. Behind him, Gaius closed the door with a loud squeaking noise. He had an extra blanket draped over one arm and sat down next to Merlin’s bed on a provided chair. Taking a look at the elder, Gwaine couldn’t help the dread from crawling under his skin. Sure, he knew that he himself would never hurt Merlin and he would protect his friend, but that didn’t mean that Gaius knew that; Gwaine wanted to avoid the treatment the noble had received from Gaius in the great hall at all cost. Nobody wanted to draw Gaius’ ire onto themselves if they were in their right mind. He just hoped that he could convince the physician that he meant no harm to Merlin.

 Gwaine nervously took a chair located on the other side of the bed. He watched as Gaius gently covered Merlin with the extra blanket, tucked him in and put a hand on his ward’s face to feel his temperature. The knight remained silent, not wanting to disturb the physician doing his work. Gwaine’s eyes wandered over Merlin’s still form; Even though his friend was cold as ice, he wasn’t shivering at all. His skin was as pale as moonlight and he had dark circles under his eyes, telling stories about exhaustion, sickness and lack of sleep. Gwaine’s eyes were glued to his friend to the extent of not realizing that Gaius had finished examining Merlin a while ago and was now staring at Gwaine from under his eyebrows. He cleared his throat to get the knights attention. Gwaine’s eyes snapped towards Gaius, worry and fear openly displayed in them but Gaius couldn’t figure out if he was scared and worried for or because of Merlin. _Could even be both._

“I bet you have a lot of questions.” Gaius said, his words slicing through the silence.

“Yes- I- I…“ Gwaine only managed to stutter.

“But first, you need to answer some of mine.” Gaius interrupted Gwaine, his chin raised slightly to display authority. Gwaine shrank away from the respected physician.

“I understand.” Gwaine nervously tapped his feet on the wooden floor before he was ready to gather all the courage and certainty he had and returned the look Gaius threw his way with determination to stand strong for whatever his future might hold.

“You know.” It was not a question. Gaius knew that Gwaine knew. His phrasing was also vague enough to not give anything away in case Gwaine didn’t actually know Merlin’s secret.

“Yes.” Gwaine decided to be patient and let Gaius ask him whatever he wanted to know from him before he’d dare to ask a question himself.

“Since when?”

“For a few hours now.” That had not been the answer Gaius was expecting; His eyes widened comically before his eyebrows furrowed in understanding.

“I knew that this was going to happen sooner or later! I told him to stay low, to let it rest, to not use it until it recovered!” Gaius deflated, his shoulders slumping, the protective aura-veil still there but thin enough to let an air of desperation through. Gaius took a heavy sigh and Gwaine took it as an opportunity to ask a question which was burning in his throat.

“Recover? What should recover?” Gaius looked up at Gwaine again with a look on his face as if he’d already forgotten the knight was with him in the room. He sat up straighter before answering.

“Merlin’s magic.” He wasn’t beating around the bush anymore. “Merlin has magic. And his magic is sick.”

“His magic is sick? I didn’t know magic could get sick…” Gwaine said thoughtfully but his attention never wavered.

“We didn’t know either until he started to lose control over it.” Gaius said while nodding, his gaze hefted on a spot in front of him.

Gwaine couldn’t help but interrupt at this point. “What do you mean he lost control? Doesn’t it usually take a lot of control and concentration for a sorcerer to perform magic? So how come losing control means using magic in Merlin’s case?”

Gaius stared at Gwaine for a drawn-out breath before coming to terms and deciding that he should tell the whole story.

“You should know that Merlin isn’t like sorcerers the you know. The people who use magic have mostly obtained that ability by years of practice. For people like them, magic was a choice. Some have an affinity for sorcery and it doesn’t take them long to grasp the concept and understand some of its ways, but even then, they need to learn spells in the words of the old religion to make it work. That is how magic and sorcery works: Studying, learning and practicing. It’s also the reason why Uther could ban magic; If you don’t learn and practice  magic, you don’t have magic. It’s your choice. But Merlin never had a choice.” Gaius swallowed before he continued.

“Merlin was born with magic.” Gaius could see the confusion suddenly etched into the lines on Gwaine’s face. Before the knight could voice a question, Gaius continued.

“All that magic you felt today? That blast of pure energy that washed over the room? That was only a part of the magic which lies dormant deep within Merlin. He was born like this… So instead of practicing how to use magic, Merlin had to practice how to control it. Even a few years ago, he still had trouble with his powers because he was using magic out of reflex; When something within your reach is falling towards the floor, the body reacts on its own, trying to catch the object out of reflex. Due to Merlin’s magic, almost everything he has vision on, lies within his reach. A falling bucket would freeze in the middle of the air, an object he was reaching for – physically – obeyed and flew to his hand, a door was pushed open without him touching it. Merlin was a wandering miracle – he still is! But now, he is a miracle in hiding. And living in Camelot means that if his power comes to light-“

“It might cost him his life…” Gwaine finished Gaius’ sentence while looking at Merlin, his inconspicuous friend who held so much wonder. “If that is all true, then why is he in Camelot? Why did he come here in the first place? He must’ve known that using magic was punishable by law with the death penalty. Why would he risk his life?”

“As you might imagine, wherever Merlin goes, he is the odd one out. He doesn’t fit in. He doesn’t know what it means to be normal, to be without magic. It’s that feeling for him everywhere he goes, but it was even worse in Ealdor. The children bullied him and Hunith had to take extra care day in and day out to make sure nobody witnessed Merlin using magic. Unlike Camelot, Essetir had not banned magic or would punish it, but Hunith feared that there would be people after Merlin once someone found out about his magic. Just imagine word got out about a small child being able to perform the strongest magic imaginable. Merlin’s life would be over.” Gwaine nodded unnoticeably, immersed in the tale Gaius related.

“To protect him, Hunith shut him out from the outside world as best as she could. She was able to keep his secret, but as Merlin grew older, his power and abilities grew as well. At some point it was too conspicuous for him to continue living among the people in Ealdor and Hunith sent her precious, protected son to Camelot to be under my care, in hope that I would be able to train and help him control his abilities. It might seem odd to you Gwaine, but with his arrival in Camelot, Merlin was suddenly in the place where he was supposed to be; His magic started to turn from a curse into a gift as he used it to save people from magical threats. He saved all of our lives a dozen times. He started to have a purpose and used his magic deliberately. That practice helped him gain control over this huge power. Being in Camelot is Merlin’s destiny.” Gaius paused thoughtfully and seemed to remember something which he needed to say.

“Gwaine, I assure you, even though Merlin has magic, he is not evil. He would never use his magic for the sole purpose of harming someone. And he doesn’t have some kind of hidden agenda-“

Gwaine almost laughed out loud at Gaius’ attempt to convince him that Merlin was anything but a malicious, evil sorcerer. In the end, he couldn’t hold in a barked laughter.

“Merlin? Evil? Those two words would never go together, magic or not, it doesn’t matter. Merlin is Merlin and that means a true friend and someone more than worth protecting. You and Merlin have nothing to fear from me. I’m here to help and I certainly don’t want my friend to shoulder such a burden alone. I’m on his side and I forever will be.” Gaius expression was filled with relief and a warm kindness that put a smile on Gwaine’s face.

“But back to the problem.” Gwaine said hesitantly, indicating a hand in his friend’s direction. “What is wrong with Merlin? Why is he losing control over his magic?”

Gaius sighed again while scratching his chin. “That idiot caught the flu and had to take a few days off from his duty. Merlin refused to leave Arthur’s side because his true duty is –and always will be – to protect Arthur. Merlin feared that something might happen to the king during the festivities and he wanted to stay by his side to save him from whatever harm might come his way. While being sick, he soon realized that his magic wasn’t working like it should be; Spells he usually casts without any effort suddenly made him break a sweat. It strained him to use his magic. So since Merlin isn’t a normal human, we figured that the magic, which is part of his being, was sick as well. And when there is sickness, there needs to be recovery. I advised him to take his time to recover and do his magic a favor and not make use of it until it was fully recovered as well. Merlin didn’t like that idea, but he agreed. It didn’t take him long to break that agreement though. The minute I was gone to visit my patients, he snatched the big spell book he owns and performed a healing spell on himself. That’s when all the trouble started; The healing didn’t go right because of his weak and ill magic and instead of healing him, it damaged him. He told me about the barrier inside him which holds all that power at bay and how he was able to control it to measure the right amount of magic he needs to perform a spell. It appears that that barrier is not under his control anymore. Sometimes when he wants to perform magic, nothing happens; Other times he accidentally uses way too much magic for a spell which actually requires a lot less. Sometimes, he doesn’t even want to use magic,  it happens out of reflex or just because he is thinking about it. And even then, he can’t control the amount of magic and energy leaving his core. It’s a complete disaster.” Gaius eyes lingered on his ward’s face while he spoke.

Something about this sounded familiar to Gwaine and he remembered the pure look of shock in those golden eyes staring at him before Merlin was able to cover them up and broke the eye contact. So Merlin accidentally performed magic during the knights fight to save Gwaine from getting injured and that while standing next to the king of Camelot. _Oh Merlin_. Gwaine rubbed at his eyes with the palm of his hands. “So let me get this straight. While juggling, he accidentally performed magic which also happened to almost kill him?”

“Yes. Using that much magic at once seems to be very draining. He will be fine. I doubt that it could really kill him, but it’s definitely not pleasant. In this case, it worked in our favor; It made sense that Merlin might be targeted as the kings friend and manservant.” Gaius smiled at Gwaine. “Thank you for the quick thinking back then. As soon as the sorcery was done, I was afraid that I wouldn’t manage to get Merlin out of it. You saved his life by spreading the lie.”

“Well, on the other hand, we have a non-existent sorcerer on the loose in Camelot now. Maybe it wasn’t the best idea to make them search for a sorcerer with Merlin’s current… predicament.”

Gaius let loose a bitter laugh. “That might be a problem, yes.”

“Problem? What problem?” A tired voice in the middle of the knight and the physician drew their attention to it. Merlin’s pale lips were formed into a small smile and his steel blue eyes were jumping from Gaius’ to Gwaine’s face. “Well…? How bad was it? Will I be executed?” Merlin had put on a joking manner but Gwaine could see the fear glistening in his eyes.

“Welcome back my friend.” Gwaine said with a warm voice, hoping his smile and smooth manner would help in calming down Merlin’s nerves. “Do you think I would let that happen when I just found out about your amazing powers? Not going to happen, my friend. You are safe, they don’t know it was you who performed the magic.”

The smile Merlin gave them almost made them forget about the whole predicament.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy? Was it okay? I hope I could satisfy with the explaining I had to do.  
> Until next time.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merlin and Gwaine go into the forest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long chapter up ahead :)

“You-You are… Ha!” Gwaine was pacing in front of Merlin and Gaius.

“Yup.” Merlin took a sip of the tea he was clutching in both hands. He had felt better after waking up and insisted on getting up and actually left his room. He was sitting on a chair, snuggled into a blanket, only his head and arms poking out to hold and sip the hot liquid from the mug. He had started to shiver a while ago but the trembling had already died down a little.

It had taken a few minutes after Gaius’ and Gwaine’s conversation before full realization had set in on Gwaine’s side. Gwaine currently went through the stages of excitement and thrill. “And you saved us so many times!” He changed directions again, walking with fast strides towards Merlin, a bright smile on his face and an even brighter glint in his eyes. He stopped and looked at his friend. “Thank you.”

Merlin paused, mug halfway up to his lips and glanced up at the knight in front of him. “What?”

Gwaine’s gaze jumped from Merlin to Gaius for a brief second, a slight note of confusion visible in his gaze, before going back to looking Merlin into the eyes. “Thank you.” Gwaine turned and walked around the room again. “I felt like it needed to be said.”

Merlin nodded and smiled into his mug. Waking up, barely being aware over the fact that he had casted one of the most powerful spells he had ever dared to cast – and that in front of around five kingdoms – was something Merlin never wanted to do again. The moment the energy washed over the room and Merlin had felt his conscious fading, an image had popped up inside his head; Him tied to a stake, screaming in pain as the flames devoured his body. The biggest shock after waking up was, that everything seemed to be fine. Gwaine knew his secret and was more than okay with it. Gaius was by his side… oh, and he wasn’t dead or about to be executed. While Gwaine was having his moment, Gaius took the time to explain to Merlin what had happened and Merlin was moved and impressed with Gwaine’s quick thinking.

“Where is Arthur?” Merlin asked.

“He’s-“ As if on cue, there was a knock on the door and Arthur poked his head into the room. His face lit up the moment he saw his manservant being up and relatively well.

“Merlin!” He walked into the room and closed the gap between him and his friend, putting a strong hand on Merlin’s shoulder. Arthur addressed Gaius. “How is he?”

“He suffered from light hypothermia but there was no damage done. A little rest and he’ll be as good as new.” Gaius answered dutifully.

“’He’ is also present in the room.” Merlin said, rolling with his eyes. “I’m fine.” Arthur smiled at him before his gaze wandered to Gwaine.

“The other knights and I arranged a search party for the sorcerer that fled from the scene. We are determined to catch him and make him pay for what he did. I count the attack on Merlin as a direct attack on Camelot, on myself and on my guests. It was clearly an act of sabotage to prevent the kingdoms from coming to terms with one another and agreeing on peace and trading treaties.” Arthur scratched his head, a sigh escaping him. “I have to catch that sorcerer… I can’t let our guests think that I am incapable of handling a situation like this. We need to prove to them that we are able to defend ourselves from magical threats.” Merlin looked up at his king, feeling guilty for the situation he had caused and the pressure that had been put on Arthur’s shoulders.

“You will find him. And nobody is going to think that Camelot can’t stand up for itself.” Merlin reassured his stressed friend. Arthur smiled at him and ruffled his friend’s raven hair.

“Yes, I will.” He turned to leave the room. “But not with your help, Merlin. If that sorcerer attacked you to send a message to me, there could be the possibility of him trying to attack you again and I don’t want to risk that.” He looked at Gwaine. “Gwaine, you stay here and keep an eye on Merlin. I trust that you will not leave his side.”

“Yes Sire!” Gwaine was very serious while answering. Merlin could feel a groan trying to escape him.

“And you Merlin-” Arthur pointed a finger at his friend. “-You are going to stay here and rest. Do as Gaius says, don’t go out and don’t try to look for that sorcerer.” Arthur’s mouth was pressed into a thin line while his eyes were opened wide and his eyebrows raised up to his hairline. He still wiggled that finger into Merlin’s direction, indicating that he was serious. He took one last glance towards Gwaine and Gaius before he left the room again, comforted by the knowledge that his friend was fine.

As soon as Arthur left the room, Merlin stood up, threw the blanket off of himself and put the mug down on the table. He took one look at Gaius and said expressively. “I have to go.”

“Go? Go where? Catch a non-existent sorcerer?” Gwaine asked, throwing his hands in the air in desperation.

“Merlin, I don’t think this is a good idea. I know that we need to find a solution but I don’t know if he has the answer we are looking for.” Gaius said skeptically. Gwaine looked between the two perplexedly. Here he was, thinking he was already part of the ‘knowing-the-secret-club’ and yet he had no clue what was going on.

“Are you going to meet someone?” Gwaine asked.

“Hopefully. He is very wise and has helped me solve many problems before. He might have a solution for my predicament.” Merlin informed Gwaine while putting his shoes on.

_Merlin is meeting someone wise with knowledge of magic and sorcery? A druid maybe?_ Gwaine couldn’t help but feel unease at the thought of Merlin having that kind of company or even conspiring with someone like that. It wasn’t that Gwaine didn’t trust Merlin… Merlin was someone who easily trusts others and who tended to be a little naïve from time to time. Merlin always saw the good in people and it was up to his friends to help him see the bad. But it also worked the other way around; Merlin helped his friends to see the good in people, no matter which prejudices they had to face. Gwaine wanted to meet that ‘person’ to be able to ease his troubled mind and make sure, that the person was trustworthy and not trying to exploit the young warlock.

“I’m coming with you.” Gwaine grabbed his coat.

“It’s better if you stay here, trust me. You know my secret now and you handled it pretty well, but I don’t think that you are ready for coming with me into the forest, yet.” Merlin had an almost conspiratorial undertone and grinned at Gwaine. Gwaine was upset that Merlin wanted to leave him out.

“I’m not letting you go on your own, Merlin.” He put on a pout and folded his arms in front of his chest. “You heard what Arthur said, I have to stick to you and not leave your side. Besides, you are not well and if your shaky frame drops to the forest floor while nobody is by your side, Arthur would kill me. And Gaius probably too.” A quick nod from the physician to his left confirmed that hunch. Instead of being annoyed or troubled, Merlin seemed relieved and happy that Gwaine was insisting.

“Alright Gwaine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Merlin.” Gaius voice was heavy with worry as he addressed his ward once again. “I really think you shouldn’t go and see him. Considering your current situation, it might be difficult to even _call_ him.” Gaius knitted his eyebrows and stared pointedly, relaying a hidden message with his eyes. Merlin considered his words before sending a reassuring smile towards his mentor. “I’ll be careful. The moment I realize something is wrong, I turn and come back, promised.” Merlin elbowed Gwaine in the side. “And I have Gwaine with me.”

So they left Gaius’ chambers and sneaked out of the castle. Gwaine was overwhelmed by the set of skills Merlin displayed; How he was able to time it right to avoid being seen by the guards walking by, how Merlin knew which entrance wasn’t well-guarded, which guard was currently on shift and if said guard had a weak bladder and used to go to the toilet regularly, making sneaking by easier. Merlin must’ve a lot of practice, Gwaine figured. They left the castle behind them and entered the dark and ominous forest. A chill ran down Gwaine’s back, his sensitive hearing picking up every sound around him. His heart was beating faster as he followed his friend into the unknown. Merlin put one determined step in front of the other, being the striking image of bravery. His back was straightened and his chest broadened with every step. They climbed over tree trunks and roots and Gwaine’s eyes were thirsting for the pale moonlight that shone through the leave-roof above them. Gwaine’s head was trying to spin tales about evil sorcerers, creatures of the night, outlaws and other threats cowering in the shadows behind the trees. His eyes snapped from one shadow to the next one until they finally landed on the back in front of him. His heartrate calmed down a bit. Even though Gwaine was supposed to be the protective knight in shining armour, he felt safer knowing that Merlin was there. They had been in silence for a while now, when Merlin’s voice suddenly made Gwaine jump.

“You should know that no matter what happens, you are safe with me.” Merlin threw a glance over his shoulder at Gwaine.

“Why don’t you just tell me who we are going to meet? I think I can handle it.” Gwaine countered.

“If I tell you now, you’ll insist on turning on the spot and going back to the citadel.” Merlin grinned self-confidentially. “That means if you even believe me. It’s best to just go and see for yourself.”

Gwaine laughed softly, unsure how to interpret what Merlin had just said. “You sound like we are about to meet a dragon, or a unicorn. How bad can it be?” At that, Merlin simply stared at Gwaine, saying nothing. Gwaine’s incredulous smile faltered.

“You are pulling my leg, right? No way… Are we going to meet a unicorn?” Gwaine’s eyes were wide, staring accusingly at Merlin.

They reached a clearing, bathed in the light the moon casted down from the star-filled night sky. Merlin went to the middle and looked up. As soon as Gwaine wanted to follow, Merlin held his hand up to stop him.

“You should keep a distance, just to be safe.” The warlock then threw his head back and opened his mouth, a roar filled with foreign words suddenly echoing through the cold air.

“ ** _O drakon, e male so ftengometta tesd'hup'anankes!”_**  Gwaine stood there, open-mouthed, when a strong wind suddenly blew around them, whirling up dirt, leaves and grass. Gwaine had to protect his eyes from the sudden gust by covering his face with his forearm. His ears were ringing because of the sheer power of that roar Merlin had just send towards the sky. Gwaine feared that even the people in Camelot had heard the roar. Suddenly, there was a shadow towering dangerously above them, blocking the moonlight from the clearing. There was a strange sound of something loudly slapping something else. The noise filled the whole air and was accompanied with another gust of wind. Then the earth was shaking, the tremble originating from the spot were Merlin stood. Gwaine finally managed to look past his forearm at whatever was causing these natural catastrophes. Gwaine’s mouth almost dropped to the floor. One thing was for sure: It wasn’t a unicorn.

A dragon. A real dragon. It had just landed on the ground in the middle of the clearing and was about to tuck his big brown leathery wing in. As he moved them, the wind blew through the crowns of the trees again and made Gwaine furiously blink, as dust flew into his eyes. He kept staring at the glorious creature in front of him through his tears though. It was as big as the dining hall within Camelot’s citadel and it would’ve probably filled the room in completely. It had a long neck and big brown scales covering its whole body. The front and hind legs were equipped with deadly, sharp claws and with every movement the creature made, Gwaine could see defined muscles moving beneath the scaly armour. The creature was looking at Merlin with its golden, glowing eyes before its eyes landed on Gwaine as well.

“ _I see you brought a friend, warlock_.” _The dragon was talking!_ Gwaine felt like he was caught in the most bizarre dream he had ever had.

“Gwaine, Kilgharrah. Kilgharrah, Gwaine.” Merlin waved a hand at his friend and the dragon in turn to indicate their names as a form of introduction. Gwaine was still rendered speechless, frozen on the spot and not daring to move a muscle as Kilgharrah’s big head, covered in horns, came closer to eye the knight from Camelot.

“ _Ah of course, Sir Gwaine.”_ The big head shifted again to look at the young warlock standing in front of him. _“I take it that he knows of your destiny now, young one?”_ Merlin pressed his lips together while giving half a nod, half a shake of his head.

“He knows the basics… But I’ve come to you to look for help, Kilgharrah.” Merlin’s face turned serious and a little desperate as well.

_“You seek a solution for gaining control back over your magic?”_ Kilgharrah suggested.

“How did you know?” Merlin asked, looking a bit embarrassed.

_“Dragonlords are spiritual brothers to the dragons.”_ Gwaine twitched at the word ‘dragonlord’. _“In the spirit we are one. We take upon the emotional burdens of one another if we desire to do so. We can communicate over great distance by telepathy and over even greater distance by empathy. I felt your distress, Merlin.”_ Kilgharrah closed his eyes for a second before slowly opening them again.

_“And to speak the truth, the call you send out to summon me was powerful enough to give me a slight headache.”_ Kilgharrah’s head suddenly dropped down until he was only a few centimeters away from Merlin’s head. Gwaine had to resist the urge to lunge forward to protect his friend. Kilgharrah took a deep breath through his nose as if he was sniffing Merlin. Then he hummed in comprehension.

_“Your barrier is cracked. It is a condition caused by your own magic and it will stay permanent if you don’t counteract it with the very thing that broke it; Your magic.”_

“But I can’t perform magic without making a big mess out of it! Can’t you use your magic and repair my barrier for me?” Merlin pleaded.

_“I fear I can’t, Merlin. Every kind of magic is different and as unique as it’s holder. I fear that it would inflict even more damage to your already instable barrier when I try to heal the crack with my unique energy. It has to be your own magic, so it doesn’t get rejected by your barrier.”_

“How do I do that? Is there a spell you can teach me?” Merlin tried, still hopeful.

_“There are a few ways. There are ingredients you could conjure-“_ Kilgharrah suddenly stopped talking and raised his head, searching the sky with his golden eyes. _“I feared that this might happen.”_ Kilgharrah sighed.

Gwaine looked up as well, not able to spot anything, but then he heard it; There was a horrible screech coming from a distance. Another screech followed and then it was a whole choir of these dreadful sounds, announcing that their demise was on its way.

_“Wyverns. They heard your command as a dragonlord. It was_ _powerful enough to summon them. A lot of them are coming to this clearing. You should leave. I will scare them off.”_ Kilgharrah announced and without sparing another second, he spread his massive wings and took flight with one powerful flap. Merlin looked after him huffily and it was up to Gwaine to grab Merlin by the wrist and drag him into the safety of the woods.

“We have to get away from here!” Gwaine screamed while stumbling over the roots, dragging Merlin behind him. Above them, the night sky was ablaze with Kilgharrah’s unforgiving breath, but the screeches from the wyvern came from all around them. They jumped over a fallen tree and slumped against the trunk to catch their breath.

“Thanks for coming along, Gwaine.” Merlin said in between heavy breaths.

“You know that I would’ve preferred the unicorn, right, Merlin?” Gwaine looked at his friend, wishing that they had stayed in Gaius’ chambers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it. I had a lot of fun writing this chapter and I'm sorry for the sort-of cliffhanger at the end.  
> Leave a comment to tell me your opinion.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merlin and Gwaine meet some wyverns.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back. Please enjoy the read.

They sat still, their backs pressed against the trunk of the fallen tree, their sensitive ears picking up every sound around them, which were amplified by their own fear. Their warm breath danced through the cold air in front of them before it evaporated. The coldness seeped through their clothes and dug its way deeper until it was crawling under their skin. The wind was whispering to them creating illusions of phantoms, the ghosts of those who were lost. The only movement that could be spotted was their chests rising and sinking rapidly. They didn’t dare to make a move as they waited for something to happen. Above them, the sounds of Kilgharrah fighting off the wyverns had finally died down, but Gwaine feared that they were still far from save. The dragon had told them himself that he was able to feel Merlin because of their relationship as dragon and dragonlord. If the wyverns had arrived because Merlin had subconsciously ordered them to come here, then it might also be possible that they were able to feel Merlin’s presence. Gwaine’s breath hitched in his throat when he heard something; Behind them in the undergrowth, a twig snapped. Slow, dragged-out steps sounded over to them on a wave of wind. A rattling breath and a low grumble made the hair on the back of their necks stand up. Gwaine didn’t even realize that he was holding his breath until the pressure in his lungs became too much and he had to take in a big gulp of the fresh, cold night air. Next to him, Merlin was concentrating on something; His eyes were half-lidded and his eyebrows knitted. His lips were pressed into a thin line and his face even took on an unusual shade of color. Gwaine wasn’t used to see Merlin like that. The sound which had been directly behind them moved away and soon faded away in the distance. They remained unmoving for a few seconds longer until Merlin dared to whisper.

“I can feel Kilgharrah calling out to me on our mental link. He says that he managed to scare most of the wyverns away, but we still need to be careful. I tried to scan our surroundings-“ Suddenly, his clear blue eyes were as wide as saucers, staring into the open before them.

“They are coming, I can sense them.” Merlin whispered, not daring to look at Gwaine. “And if I can sense them, they can probably sense me as well. I’m putting us in danger.” Merlin’s voice was barely above a whisper now. Gwaine looked at Merlin and grabbed his hand, holding onto it to let his own warmth sink into Merlin’s ice-cold fingers and to grab his attention. As soon as Merlin looked at Gwaine, the knight made sure to convey that it wasn’t Merlin’s fault through his eyes, hoping that it would reach the self-conscious warlock, who had an exceptional talent to hide his light under a bushel. Merlin’s face told Gwaine that he understood as his soft lips slowly formed into a small smile. They stayed like that for a drawn out second before Merlin started to move, his face contorting into a serious expression. Gwaine followed his idea and stood slowly. He had to steady himself by holding on to the tree; his legs were numb because of the coldness and the uncomfortable position they had sat in. Without a word, Merlin started to proceed through the woods, determination in every step he took, following a path which was unknown to Gwaine.

Suddenly, Merlin stopped dead in his tracks, causing Gwaine to slam right into his fragile friend. They tumbled to the floor together, coming to a halt with Merlin on top of Gwaine. Gwaine opened his mouth to ask if Merlin was alright, but Merlin stopped him by pressing his hand down on Gwaine’s mouth to silence him.

“Shh.” Merlin ducked down, looking at something in front of them. “They are ahead of us. And behind us… We are trapped.”

Merlin didn’t realize that he was still pressing his hand down on Gwaine’s lips, so Gwaine gently grabbed his hand and removed it. “I can fight them. I don’t have my armour but I brought my sword along. I can protect us.”

“No Gwaine, it’s too dangerous, there are too many wyverns.” Merlin got off of Gwaine and knelt next to him in the dirt. “…Perhaps I could order them to leave.”

“But then you have to use your magic, don’t you? It might be too dangerous.” Gwaine interjected.

“We have no choice. I will order them to leave us alone with all my might as a dragonlord.” Merlin and Gwaine got up and walked ahead. Gwaine drew his sword, the steel glinting in the dim moonlight. They stepped around a big tree into a small, grassy clearing, which was surrounded by unforgiving darkness. There was an earsplitting screech coming out of the forest in front of them and then, three wyverns stepped into the moonlight. Gwaine forgot how to breathe for a second; He had seen wyverns before, yes, but it was still a breathtaking sight, especially when being that close to them. The wyverns almost looked like a mixture between a bird and a snake. They each had a set of horns on top of their scaly heads. These scales were as dark as the night sky and were glinting in the moonlight, making appear slick. Their eyes were red and it almost seemed like hellfire was burning within them. They had their teeth bared, a long and dripping wet tongue was clicking against the dagger like teeth. Unlike the majestic dragon Gwaine had met earlier, the wyverns were barely bigger than a human. Their fluid movements assured that they had great reflexes and were used to act on instinct. There was a bone-chilling grumble deep in their throats, saliva dripping out of their snouts to the forest floor. They moved their heads around to look at their prey from every angle, flapping their black wings in excitement.

Merlin stepped protectively in front of Gwaine, straightening his back, puffing out his chest and holding out a hand, his palm towards the wyverns, he roared words in a language unbeknownst to Gwaine.

  **“Nun de** **ge** **dei s’eikein kai emois epe’essin hepesthai!”** The roar was deafening and after Merlin  had finished his command, the time seemed to have stopped for at least a few seconds. There was no movement; The wyverns stood still, not knowing how to react to the sudden command of a dragonlord. Merlin was breathing heavily and Gwaine adjusted his grip on the hilt of his sword, his knuckles whitening. Then, slowly, the wyverns took a step backwards, retreating into the woods.

“It worked!” Gwaine couldn’t help himself from shouting out loud as soon as he saw the wyverns retreating. Then, out of nowhere, there was a scream behind him; Gwaine had barely enough time to turn around, pulling his sword along and ripping the hilt upwards to prevent the wyvern’s claws from slicing across his face. The claws struck his blade, the sound which was created reverberated around the clearing. Gwaine was pushed backwards because of the force from the impact, avoiding the other claw, which was swung at him, that way by mere centimeters.

“Gwaine!” Merlin’s shout was lost in the chaos as Gwaine used his sword to prevent another claw-strike from finding its target. Then, there was a tail slapping against his shins, causing Gwaine to lose the ground under his feet. He fell into the dirt, managing to hold his sword protectively in front of him and preventing the wyvern, which was now on top of him, to bite his head off. The dagger-like tools in its mouth were snapping shut a blink away from the tip of Gwaine’s nose. Gwaine had one hand pressed against the cutting edge of his sword while the other was gripping the hilt with all the strength he could muster. He felt a sharp pain in one hand and there was a tickle of warm fluid dripping down his wrist onto the ground, but all Gwaine could see was the hellmouth opening and closing aggressively in front of him and all he could think was _‘Is Merlin safe?’_ His answer came shortly afterwards when Gwaine heard another command roared by the dragonlord close by.

**_"_** **Nun de ge dei s'eikein kai emois epe'essin hepesthai!** **"** Nearby, a flock of cackling crows left the roof of the woods and flew in the opposite direction. Gwaine’s struggle decreased as the beast broke off his hunt for prey. The wyvern got off from Gwaine and tentatively retreated and took cover. Breathing heavily, Gwaine sat up, wiping sweat off his face with a shaking hand and inspected the injured hand by holding it closely to his face. There was a deep cut from his own sword.

“Gwaine!” Merlin was next to Gwaine in an instant, inspecting the cut as well. To Gwaine’s relief, he was unharmed. “I’m so sorry! All the wyverns which were close by should’ve listened to my command and leave us alone, but it must’ve been too weak and therefore didn’t reach the wyvern which attacked you.” Merlin’s words were laced with worry.

“Merlin, I’m alright. You tend to forget that I am a knight of the round table from Camelot. I can deal with a cut. It’s nothing to worry about.” Merlin looked at Gwaine, not convinced.

From the corner of his eye, Gwaine spotted movement behind Merlin. Something was charging at his friend with deadly intend; A wyvern was flying towards Merlin near ground level, claws outstretched and ready to take lifes. Without a word of warning, Gwaine hugged Merlin close and threw himself together with Merlin to the ground, aiming for cover but the wyvern was already too close for him to do something else besides hugging his friend for dear life. The claw came anyway and sliced through clothes and flesh mercilessly. It had struck Gwaine’s back. The pain came instantly, making him cry out loud. Merlin begun to struggle within Gwaine’s still tight grip as he tried to break free. Gwaine’s vision faded for a moment and there was a high-pitched sound in his ears. His breathing increased and the pulsing pain on his back prevented him from noticing the small bundle of warlock who struggled within his grip.

“Gwaine! You have to let go of me!” Merlin screamed at his friend while struggling, but the only answer he received was a pain-filled groan. Then, Merlin saw the wyvern again; It had turned around and aimed for Gwaine’s back again, trying to finish the job.

Right then and there, Merlin was beyond angry. All of a sudden, the anger boiled up from within him. It was his fault that the peace treaties were probably going to fail. His fault, that Arthur had to shoulder another burden which was way to heavy for someone alone. His fault that Gaius had been injured and had to suffer and worry about his ward because said ward didn’t even manage to make the right decisions. And it was his fault that Gwaine was injured and fighting for his life to protect someone who was as useless as Merlin right now. Merlin didn’t want Gwaine to make that sacrifice. He didn’t deserve someone acting as selfless as the pain-ridden knight embracing him, willing to sacrifice it all. But most of all, he was angry with himself. Angry for being powerless.

He embraced that anger, holding onto it, feeding upon it and he used it to fuel his power.

**_“_** **Nun de ge dei s’eikein kai emois epe’essin hepesthai!”** The wyvern stopped mid-flight and crashed to the floor, crying out, getting up shakily and fleeing into the woods like a hurt animal. Around them, the air was filled with the terrified screeches of other retreating wyverns. They were finally safe. Gwaine must’ve also somehow registered that the danger was gone, because his breathing calmed down and his squeezing embrace loosened up.

“Gwaine!” Merlin was finally able to snake out of his friend’s arms and sat down next to the knight. The sight of his back was gruesome; Merlin could see the maltreated flesh beneath the blood soaked-through, tattered clothes. Carefully, Merlin peeled the fabric aside and looked at the claw-shaped marks which were dragged across Gwaine’s back. The cuts itself were not that deep, but the mark covered a big amount of Gwaine’s back _. ‘It must hurt a lot’_ Merlin thought _._ Gwaine answered that thought with another groan.

“Merlin?” Face still down in the dirt, Gwaine started to move carefully. As soon as he moved the muscles on his back, he hissed loudly and stilled his movements to ease the pain.

“He got me good, didn’t he?” Gwaine asked, turning his head to the side to glance up at Merlin.

“The claw marks are extensive, but not that deep. But I can imagine that it must hurt a lot.” Merlin sighed and pressed the palms of his hands into the sockets of his eyes. “I’m so sorry Gwaine. It’s all my fault.” Gwaine looked at his conflicted friend from his position on the ground. Without a word, Gwaine moved, biting through the pain, sat up and took one hand from Merlin into his. He then held it up and looked at it for closer inspection.

“Mhhm, weird… It doesn’t seem like your nails match the marks on my back. Then it wasn’t you, and it certainly wasn’t your fault.” Merlin looked at the knight in front of him, who smiled at him.

“Merlin? Thank you for saving me. Again, I guess.” Gwaine gripped Merlin’s shoulder to assure him that everything was alright. Merlin shook his head at the knight’s behavior but Gwaine saw the smile that creeped its way onto Merlin’s face. The warlock took of his neckerchief and covered the injury on Gwaine’s back as best as possible to prevent dirt from getting into the wound. Then, he helped Gwaine stand up and let his friend lean on him as they slowly made their way back to Camelot.

“Gaius is going to kill me.” Merlin muttered.

“He is going to kill _us.”_ Gwaine said. They both sighed simultaneously and wobbled back towards home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it. Let me know what you think.  
> How am I doing with action scenes? Are they satisfying to read?


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this took so long. I rewrote the chapter several times and I'm still not completely satisfied.

With every step, their energy seemed to fade. Halfway back home, Merlin felt the exhaustion grab ahold of him. He had been so busy with contacting Kilgharrah and fighting off wyverns that he didn’t notice how his condition worsened. Merlin had put his needs aside, had pushed down the sickness and had ignored the warning signs his body had signaled to him. Now, after the adrenalin rush was over, he felt how his limbs were aching and trembling, threatening to give out beneath his body, how bad his head was pounding and how his throat felt raw. He couldn't deny it; The flu was still taking a big toll on him. But he had to stay strong, had to keep going. He turned his head slightly to look at the knight next to him; Gwaine was holding on to him with all the strength he still had to spare. Merlin knew that his friend was in dire need of medical assistance as soon as possible. He was breathing heavily and there was a sheen of sweat on his pain-ridden face. Every step closer to their home caused Gwaine to lose his footing and his feet were dragged more and more across the uneven ground. Merlin had to shoulder almost all of his friends weight, while feeling his own strength and will to stay conscious slowly fade away. They didn't exchange any words, they both had to save their energy and were too focused on putting one foot in front of the other without stumbling and crashing to the ground.

After what felt like an eternity, they finally reached Camelot; They stopped near the tree line and leaned against a big old tree to catch their breaths. What Gwaine and Merlin saw as they observed the castle made them swallow; Everyone was in an uproar. The guards were rushing from one point to the other, people were screaming and the top of the castle walls were lit with torches. Nearby, there was a patrol of guards stationed, holding crossbows and scanned the night sky thoroughly. There was a spark of fear written across their young faces.

“Do you think they noticed the wyverns?” Gwaine asked in a hushed whisper.

“I hope they only noticed the wyverns, not the ancient, majestic and deadly dragon fighting them off.” Merlin croaked back.

They wobbled closer to the entrance they had used before to leave unseen and scanned their surroundings for patrolling guards. Luckily, because of the uproar and the sightings of the threat in the sky, everyone was focusing their attention on what was going on above their heads. They slipped in and miraculously weren’t seen by anyone nearby. Gwaine had serious doubts about their security by that point. Their backs pressed against a wall, they threw one last glance around before scurrying through the shadow of the night and crossed the courtyard safely. The hallways in the castle were empty. Merlin guessed that the guests had been instructed to stay in their quarters during the ‘wyvern attack’. Without knocking, they entered Gaius’ chambers as soon as they reached the wooden door. Inside, Gaius was sitting at the table, leaning over a set of big books with yellowed pages. He looked up as they entered and the short spark of relief on his face vanished when he saw in which condition both of them were.

“Merlin! Gwaine!” Gaius stood up, almost knocking the candle he had used to read over. The hot wax spilled over and dripped on one of the books. Gaius cursed but ignored his ruined book in favor of the clearly injured men in front of him. He walked around the table and took on his physician role immediately.

“What happened?” He asked, his concern-ridden face jumping from face to face as he helped Gwaine over to sit on the edge of the stretcher in the middle of the room. He had to take a lot of Gwaine’s weight. The moment Gwaine sat down and Gaius was sure that he wouldn’t topple over on his own, he had to rush over to Merlin in time to catch him and prevent him from landing face first on the hard floorboards. “Merlin!” Gaius held the barely conscious warlock with an iron grip. The slender form of his ward barely weighted anything in his arms. Gaius felt a wave of heat radiating off Merlin’s damp skin. His glassy eyes were barely open. Gaius cursed under his breath and walked Merlin over to were Gwaine was sitting. The knight looked up at the approaching physician and his bleary look landed on his unmoving friend.

“Merlin?” Gwaine asked in a low voice. “Merlin!” Gwaine shouted and to Gaius’ horror, he tried to get up, reaching for the warlock.

“No, Gwaine, I got him, don’t worry.” Gaius tried to assure the knight who appeared to be slightly out of his mind. Gaius couldn’t believe what was happening right now. He put Merlin down on a stretcher next to Gwaine and felt his forehead. He had a fever running. It wasn’t dangerously high, but high enough to justify that the boy was currently knocked out. “How had he been able to move at all?” Gaius asked himself out loud while brushing the black bangs out of Merlin’s flushed face. Gwaine had moved enough while sitting on the stretcher to observe the spectacle. He was slightly swaying when he started speaking.

“What is wrong with him? Is he injured? I didn’t notice it. There was no blood and he was behaving fine. Has it something to do with his magic again? He might’ve used it without me noticing. Maybe that’s why we weren’t seen just now as we entered the castle… A cloaking spell or something like that? It must’ve worked fine-“ Gwaine slightly slurred while speaking and Gaius had the impression that the concern Gwaine felt for his friend was the only thing keeping the man upright at the moment.

After Merlin was covered with a blanket, Gaius took his medical supplies and went over to Gwaine to examine the babbling knight for injuries. He didn’t have to search long, since Gaius had noticed the bloody fabric on Gwaine’s back before. On further inspection, Gaius’ suspicion, which he had at first glance a while ago were confirmed: The soaked-through fabric was stiff and the blood had turned brown indicating that it had dried already. Cautious, he peeled the ripped clothes off to reveal three stripes of open flesh on Gwaine’s back. The wound stretched from his left shoulder to the rim of his ribcage on the right side. Gaius also stumbled upon a familiar looking piece of cloth which had been missing from a certain neck. Gaius nodded in approval at his ward’s sense for emergency treating. He hoped that Merlin’s action was effective and had prevented the wound from getting infected up until now. He managed to take off Gwaine’s shirt completely without aggravating the flesh any further. His back looked clean and wasn’t reddish at all. Gaius went on and rinsed the wound first with an alcoholic, clear solution. He flushed it out several times. If his assumption was correct, the marks on Gwaine’s back corresponded with the sightings of wyverns which had rattled the whole castle in the last few hours. And if these marks were inflicted by wyvern claws, they certainly had not been clean. Satisfied with the cleaning, Gaius carefully pulled the wounds apart to determine how deep the cuts were. To his relief they weren’t deep at all, hence the reason they had stopped bleeding. Nevertheless, they were extensive and had still caused Gwaine to lose a mentionable amount of blood. Gwaine had stayed calm during the rinsing and pulling apart, only hissing in pain from time to time. As he smelt the wave of alcohol, Gwaine asked if Gaius had a few sips to spare.

“This isn’t suited for drinking.” Gaius said in a serious manner. The knight started pouting and Gaius was relieved that Gwaine was behaving normal again. He took the moment to interrogate the knight of the round table. “How are you feeling?”

“Better. It’s nice to be out of the cold and to be able to rest. How is Merlin? What is wrong with him?” Gwaine asked urgently.

“I think it’s the flu. Even though Merlin tried to hide it, he still had been sick the whole time. I’m afraid it went under because of the trouble his magic had caused him.” Gaius grabbed the best set of bandages he had in store and instructed Gwaine to lift his arms slightly. He wound the clean fabric around Gwaine’s ribcage and over his left shoulder several times, making sure that it was tight enough. Gwaine groaned but was satisfied in the end.

“I should’ve noticed that Merlin wasn’t feeling well enough. We should’ve just stayed here with you… Then all those things wouldn’t have happened.”

“I still don’t know what happened to you two.” Gaius interjected. Gwaine put a clean shirt provided by Gaius on. It was one of Merlin’s shirts and Gwaine had to stifle a laugh when he put it on and felt his muscles stretch the fabric.

“Yes… We went into the forest and walked for a while. We reached a clearing and Merlin shouted something into the sky. A few moments later, there was a huge dragon! It just appeared out of nowhere!” Gwaine barked a laughter, his eyes as wide as saucers while shaking his head in a crazed manner. There was also a sense of childlike wonder in his behaviour.

“They talked and Merlin wanted to know what he had to do about his ‘broken-magic-barrier’…” Gwaine was surprised that he was able to even remember anything from the conversation. He had been in a state of shock after all. Gaius had moved on to clean and bandage Gwaine’s injured hand by now. He was listening carefully while doing so and nodded from time to time without disrupting Gwaine.

“The dragon had suddenly realized that the wyverns were about to arrive and told us to leave while he took off and tried to scare them off to keep us safe. I can’t believe it!” Gwaine said more to himself as he recounted the events which had happened.

“We barely managed to escape but were attacked by three or four wyverns in the woods. Merlin tried to command them to leave us alone but it only worked limited and they still attacked us. I had to fend one off with my sword and later on, I tried to get Merlin out of the way from one wyvern but he must’ve grazed me instead. Gwaine shoved a thumb over his shoulder at his own back while he looked at Gaius with a displeased expression on his face. Gaius stared at Gwaine, imagining how the brave knight jumped in front of his friend, determined to save Merlin’s life no matter what. A sigh escaped him while being confronted with Gwaine’s lack of instinct of self-perseverance. Gwaine’s only instinct was to protect others. Gaius didn’t know if he should be proud or frustrated. One look at his uninjured ward turned the corners of his mouth upwards.

“Thank you Gwaine for keeping Merlin safe.” Gwaine looked at Gaius with wide eyes. The knight had expected the physician to be angry for arriving with Merlin in such a bad condition. The compliment and pure kindness he was confronted with left him speechless. Gaius went over to a bowl and filled it with cold water. He grabbed a cloth and moistened it with the cool liquid. He took a chair and sat next to Merlin’s stretcher and started to wipe the sweat off of Merlin’s face, cooling the warm skin in the process. He proceeded to dunk the cloth in the bowl and continued wiping Merlin’s skin with it.

“I assume that Merlin had accidentally called the wyverns when he had called for Kilgharrah?” Gwaine’s open mouthed silence was all the answer he needed. He nodded to himself and sighed as he moved on to wipe Merlin’s arms with the cold cloth. “I warned him that he wasn’t in the condition to call Kilgharrah.”

“Right…” Gwaine finally managed to say while he stared at Gaius with a questioning look. “Apparently, my friend is not only a sorcerer – excuse me – warlock, but also a dragonlord?” Gwaine asked remembering what Kilgharrah had called his slender friend earlier and his face contorted into an upset expression. Gaius was surprised by Gwaine’s reaction and feared that it had been to much for the knight to handle. He wanted to assure the knight that Merlin was still Merlin, still no threat to Camelot, when Gwaine beat him to it and threw his hands up in the air.

“I can’t believe it! How can Merlin turn more and more impressive? A dragonlord? That is the most astonishing thing I’ve ever heard! I don’t know how he managed to keep that secret; I would’ve boasted with having that ability day in day out.” Gwaine shook his head while beaming with respect for his friend. Gaius smiled warmly at the knight. Said knight shifted to lie more comfortably on the stretcher.

“Gaius, I meant what I asked earlier… I could really use a drink right about now.” Gwaine said with a charming smile on his face. Gaius went over to his shelf and pulled out a bottle containing a golden liquid which had been hidden behind a set of especially boring looking books and poured Gwaine and himself a cup.

“You should also tell me if Kilgharrah said something which might help Merlin heal his barrier.” Gaius said while sitting back down on his chair. Gwaine’s joyous expression he had while sipping the honey-coloured beverage vanished, leaving a shadow of concern behind. He sat up a little more properly while staring into his cup.

“He said that only Merlin’s own magic can fix the barrier. Every other kind of energy or magic could harm him. Only his own energy won’t be rejected by the barrier.” Gaius nodded, having anticipated to hear something like that. “He was about to tell us how he could heal himself with his magic but broke off because of the arriving wyverns.” He sighed. “That had to be the worst timing I’ve ever witnessed.”

“Conjure…” A weak voice besides them said. Gwaine and Gaius looked at Merlin who was looking at them with half lidded eyes and flushed cheeks. “He said I could conjure some sort of ingredient to fix it. Conjuring ingredients with magic infects the ingredient with a signature of the magic used. I think it should then be used to brew a potion or something like that.” Merlin finished his sentence with a hearty coughing fit. Gaius poured Merlin a non-alcoholic drink to ease the certainly burning throat.

“That makes sense!” Gaius grabbed a big book from his shelf. The leathery cover presented the title ‘ _Potions – Ingredients, brewing, healing’_

“This book also offers a section with magical ingredients and a section with magical effects after ingesting the potion. I wasn’t thinking straight… I assumed that since Merlin’s predicament was caused by a spell, it had to be solved with a spell. I should’ve looked in here sooner.” He bought the book over to the table and lit another candle to lighten the room up more. He suddenly paused and looked at Gwaine.

“You wouldn’t mind keeping it secret that this book has magic sections? I’ve hidden it in plain sight and it has always looked boring enough to be written off as a normal boring book about brewing herbal teas.” Gaius smiled a little sly.

“What book are you talking about?” Gwaine answered, winking at him.

Then, there was a heavy knock on the door, silencing the room.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think of it so far. Every comment and kudos is highly appreciated. Thank you for reading.
> 
> I usually update at least once a week but I also don't know how long this fic is going to be.


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